


Infinite in Distance and Unbound by Death

by Albion_93, comicfanperson



Series: JNPR and friends [11]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Polyamorous Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Pyrrha Nikos/Nora Valkyrie, Post-Volume 7 (RWBY), Pyrrha Nikos Lives, Pyrrha Nikos is a Grimm, RWBY Action, Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:47:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23133394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Albion_93/pseuds/Albion_93, https://archiveofourown.org/users/comicfanperson/pseuds/comicfanperson
Summary: When JNOR and WBY are given no other choice, they travel to the Lands of Darkness where Salem resides with the intention of taking back what she stole. Instead, they find something they never thought they could get back.This is where the JNPR and Friends series all began.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Ruby Rose & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna & Weiss Schnee & Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc & Oscar Pine & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc & Pyrrha Nikos & Lie Ren & Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc & Yang Xiao Long, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Pyrrha Nikos/Nora Valkyrie, Oscar Pine & Ruby Rose
Series: JNPR and friends [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1632898
Comments: 51
Kudos: 74





	1. The Arc Family Memoir

**Author's Note:**

> this is going to be a really big project, so @albion-93 and i both really hope you enjoy it!!! we're psyched to be bringing yall this fic that'll really fill in plotholes and give the JNPR and Friends series some real substance. 
> 
> pls enjoy!! and if you feel up to it, leave comments and kudos!! :D

The cool night breeze brushed past my ear like a gentle whisper, and as I stood on a cliff in the middle of nowhere, feeling like the weight of the whole world rested on my shoulders, it wasn’t something that I would have to bear alone. I was surrounded by those who had sacrificed everything so that we could stand together, and I knew that even though she wasn’t here _physically_ anymore, it was still _her_ voice talking to me. 

She reminded me to take a deep breath, so I did. 

She told me to straighten my back, so I did. 

She recommended I widen my stance, so I did. 

It was always _her_ talking to me. It was always _her_ keeping us safe. Even when she seemed to be gone, even when it felt like there was no point without her, she kept us going. I squeezed my eyes shut, and simply _listened_ to her.

_Protect the innocent,_ the wind seemed to say, _Assist the strong._

As I looked out at the desolate wasteland before me, the two strongest people I knew on either side of me, I felt that courage and determination rise up within me. We had been building up to this moment for years now, and the Queen’s Lair would crumble before us, _because_ of us. Even if we died trying. There was just so much to lose, so much we had already _lost,_ and yet we had so much to fight for still, so much to save that we couldn’t stop despite what we had been through. It was crucial that we take down Salem, even though she couldn’t be killed we had all come to realize she could still be stopped.

Though it felt like she was gone forever, lost to the wind and our memories, we would be fighting Salem with Pyrrha by our sides, her advice and knowledge pushing us the whole way. Pyrrha had been the first of us from Beacon to enter this fight, whether she knew it or not, and Ren, Nora, and I had sworn to uphold her legacy. It was the least we could do for her. 

They each grabbed one of my hands simultaneously, and I squeezed them tightly in my own. We all felt her presence, we were fighting this battle with her right by our sides. 

“So,” Nora said, her voice rough and tired, “What’s the plan, fearless leader?”

I turned from the cliff’s edge to face the rest of the group, everyone before me looked unsure and worried, but we all had a resolve that had us alive thus far. 

“We don’t stop moving forward,” I finally said, hoping they didn’t hear the quiver in my voice, “No matter what, we stick together, we fight for each other, and we don’t stop moving forward.”

“As long as we have each other, we can do anything,” Ren murmured from beside me, it was a bit of wisdom we all knew, but something we still needed to be reminded of. It angered me how quickly we all had had to grow up, but we didn’t have a choice, not if we wanted to stop Salem once and for all. 

As we watched the sunrise over the horizon, beyond the cliff, there was no doubt in my mind we were all thinking the exact same thing.

We made it this far together, there was no reason we couldn’t go even further. 

  
  



	2. A Final Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> RAYNBOW pushes through the pain and the fear, they don't have a choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we are SO excited to be sharing this with yall!!! :D  
> pls enjoy!!

The fractured moon of Remnant glowered ominously in the night sky. Its intense, silvery light filled the land with a strange aura, and anyone who roamed across the land could almost see their own shadows in the moonlight. It was silent, not a bird or cricket, save for only the wind rushing across the vast untouched plain of brown, prickly grass, broken up only by a few scattered shrubs and dead trees. A few more miles to the west stood a vast, jagged mountain range with purple crystals jutting out of every side, and there the moonlight stopped as though it had simply died and ceased to shine upon the land. Darkness lay over that mountain range, and angry red clouds pulsating with crimson lightning flashed and crackled.

Back on the plains, there was another light, a warmer and resilient flicker that broke the monotony of this empty wilderness. A small, humble campfire on a flat featureless wasteland stretching as far as the eye could see, and a group of young Huntsmen and Huntresses, tired from a full day of walking, spending what may very well be their last twenty four hours alive.

Jaune Arc stared silently at the flames lighting up his face, grateful for their warmth. Huddled up on both sides were his team, his partners, his family, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. Both of them were lost in thought, even Nora of all people. On other occasions that would scare Jaune, but tonight he knew full well why. 

Across from them, on the other side of the campfire, sat Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna, and Weiss Schnee. Three fourths of Team RWBY. Guilt gnawed its way through Jaune’s heart as he looked at them, bruised and broken. Weiss in particular was barely consolable, as Yang comfortingly stretched her left arm over her shoulders. Their determination was admirable, that was for sure, but Jaune knew the place where that determination was birthed, knew it like an old friend from so many lifetimes ago. That wasn’t what mattered now, though. 

Ruby had been captured by Salem, and the world seemed to be falling apart at the seams because of it. She had always been the unofficial leader of Team RRAYNBOW, even though she and Jaune collaborated to the point of him basically being the co-leader. It was difficult without her around, without her optimism, hardwork and natural born leadership abilities. Jaune was able to step up to the plate without batting an eye, and yet… 

The _guilt._

If only he had had the guts to tell her exactly what he thought of that plan-

If only he had seen what was happening _sooner-_

Jaune shook his head, bringing himself out of it. Now was a bad time to spiral, there was so much to be done still. They had to rescue Ruby. There was no other choice, no other way to stop Salem. Perhaps once free, her silver eyes could finally end that monster’s life for good. They had been a team for so long, relied on each other for so long, that with just one missing piece of the puzzle it felt so daunting to even try. 

And he wasn’t the only one who felt this loss, as just a few meters away, his newest best friend and partner Oscar Pine was clearly troubled. Their youngest member was pacing up and down, glancing up at the stars and back down at his feet. Jaune knew he liked to spend a little time by himself, but something was obviously on his mind. He walked up to the campfire and sat down adjacent to either side.

“Hey,” he said shyly, as though he were still unsure about his place in the group. But Jaune was certain, he _is_ a part of Team JNPR, no matter what.

“Hey, buddy, how are you doing?” said Jaune quietly, glancing up and smiling a little.

“I’m okay, I guess. Only so much the mind can process when it comes to launching a covert assault on Salem’s domain, right?” he chuckled nervously.

“Yeah, it’s… not everyday this sort of thing happens,” said Jaune with a lopsided ‘we’re so screwed’ type of smile, but Ren and Nora both looked hesitant.

“I still can’t believe we’re going through with this,” said Nora quietly.

Weiss looked up at them with haunted eyes and an equally haunted whisper, “It’s crazy. We’re all crazy. Ruby would not want us throwing our lives away against Salem’s hordes like this.”

“We don’t have any other options,” Blake reminded her, not looking away from the burning fire. 

“After we leave this plain, we enter the Lands of Darkness,” said Ren with a strong hint of fear, he looked towards Jaune, “Let’s go over the plan one more time, just to be safe.”

Jaune nodded, he crouched down and picked up a nearby stick and started drawing in the sand, illuminated by the firelight.

“When we cross into the mountains, the Grimm will see us before we do and will be in striking distance. Ren, your semblance can hide our emotions for a while but I know it will take its toll on you. I can keep you sustained for as long as we can go on foot. Nora, I need you to be our eyes and ears, any sign of Grimm or their black pools then we will either move away or fight.”

“You got it, chief,” said Nora encouragingly.

“And what’s our role in all this?” asked Yang.

“I was about to get to that. Yang, I need you to stay with the main group in case there’s a fight. Weiss, with your Lancer summon you can be our eye in the sky, in case Nevermores spot us. Blake, you could keep stealthy and go with Nora to keep an eye out.”

“I got your back, bro,” winked Yang.

“Sure thing,” nodded Blake.

“Good plan and all, but you’ve forgotten something,” said Weiss, perhaps a little too dismissively, “We don’t actually know _where_ Salem is. Even if we manage to evade the Grimm we could search for weeks and find nothing.”

“I can guide us to Salem’s fortress,” said Oscar, much to their surprise, “It’s called Evernight Castle; a tall crystalline structure atop a plateau visible from a great distance, but it’s impossible to climb. Ozpin said that one of his past lives managed to locate it and Salem inside and evaded capture. There are these… very old memories of a steep cliff, a hidden doorway in the rock and a dark spiral staircase leading up to the citadel. But that must have been centuries ago, she's probably got new defenses in place.”

“Plus, it’s gonna be _crawling_ with Grimm,” murmured Nora, wrapping her arms around her legs, “I’m not sure I could fight off that many...”

“We can do it,” Yang told her firmly, their eyes meeting in a strong hold across the fire, “We can do this together.”

“I know it's not much to go on, but it’s all we’ve got,” said Jaune.

“It has to be done,” concluded Ren, “unpleasant as it is to contemplate.”

“We _do_ have a _serious_ score to settle with her and these cretins for… personal reasons,” added Nora ruefully.

Blake nodded her head, her short hair bouncing with it, “We all do.”

“I was actually wondering, Jaune… is it alright if I ask you about _her_?” Oscar said haltingly, glancing nervously up and down towards them.

Jaune froze and went pale, staring straight into Oscar’s eyes as if he were holding a sword to his neck. Ren’s eyes widened and his serene breathing became ever so slightly erratic, and Nora gave him a wounded stare, tears starting to form out of the corners of her eyes. Weiss, Yang and Blake exchanged worried glances, they knew this wasn’t a safe subject to bring up.

“I’m-I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have, that was stupid and inconsiderate and-” he started reproachfully.

“It’s okay, man, I totally understand,” said Jaune, gently interrupting him, “Actually, we’ve been thinking the same thing. First I wanted to ask; what were you told about her?”

“Well, the first time I was at Haven, Ruby told me about the night Beacon fell, and Pyrrha was...” the words on Oscar’s lips began to falter again, as though he had broken some sort of code in saying her name, “Pyrrha was one of the kindest souls she had ever met. She was there in the battle, and when given the choice between her own safety and the safety of others she was willing to go into a battle she knew she couldn’t win.” 

“Yeah, that sounds like her,” said Nora quietly, smiling despite the quiet stream of tears coming down her cheeks. Ren leaned gently into her, and they clasped each others’ hands.

“And Ozpin, he… he sometimes mentions her in passing during our talks alone. When I’m asleep, sometimes I get these visions of a warrior with vibrant red hair in gleaming bronze armour. Mostly she was facing away, but then she turns around and looks so sad; _betrayed_ even. I race over to her but then the dream ends, and I wake up feeling awful, like I was responsible for what happened to her. You know, he feels a lot of guilt for his part in what happened to her, right?”

“Yeah,” Jaune simply said, but by now his eye contact was averted from both Oscar and the firelight, glancing at nothing in particular, like he was trying to hide the sadness in his eyes.

“I really admired her compassion and sense of honor,” said Ren solemnly, “she was patient with everyone and always willing to see the best in so many people. Some days, when I was more closed off than usual and just wanted my space, she still gave helpful and comforting advice when I needed to hear it.”

“See, when I first met Pyrrha, she was already a great warrior but I was scared she’d act all snooty and above it all, kinda like Weiss was at the start,” began Nora trying to muster some positivity, ignoring Weiss’ fond little huff, “I was _so_ surprised at just how sincere, sweet and down to earth she was! She’d listen to me ramble on about stuff, patiently sitting there and smiling. It was just great to have another girl to be that open with, ya know? I loved that despite how crazy things got, she always listened. It felt so _good_ finally having another girl in my life I could trust, even when she was having trouble with feelings and...”

Suddenly, Nora stopped, as if all the energy was drained from her. She looked down, eyes starting to glimmer with tears. She looked up towards Jaune, but all emotion was gone from his face. She knew what this meant. She knew that if he let it out now it would just about break him.

“I really, really didn’t appreciate Pyrrha enough when I first met her,” he said at last, his voice full of bitterness and self-resentment that had been held up inside for months going on years, “At times, I even tried to push her away when she was only trying to help; she could have stopped wasting her time with me right there for all the crap I gave her. But no, she persisted, she trained with me and shaped me into a somewhat passable Huntsman student. 

“I just saw her as another girl in school, just like Nora, Ruby, Yang, or Blake. Ironically, that’s what she _loved_ about me, that I didn’t put her on some pedestal but actually treated her as a friend. Someone she could count on and confide in when it just got too much. I had no idea how alone she often felt because of her nickname ‘The Invincible Girl’. I _worshiped_ the ground which Weiss stood, but I was so gods-damned blinded by my stupid crush that I couldn’t see the obvious! The fact that I probably hurt her for that length of time still makes me sick to my stomach. Only in the very end… as our home was destroyed by the Grimm, and she ran off to fight Cinder… one kiss was all it took for me to realize that I loved her.”

Weiss looked up at Jaune, swallowing thickly, “I used to be so awful to all of you, Pyrrha was the only one who really… I think she knew more than I let on about my family situation. She was just so kind to everyone, even me. Despite the way I acted or what I said, she was simply… compassionate.”

“We all miss her, Jaune,” Yang said softly, an emotion so deep in her voice that Oscar _ached,_ “Ruby does, too.”

“We are _not_ losing anyone else,” Ren said firmly, eyes closed and Nora’s hand gripped in his. “We won’t go down in a burning ship.”

Murmurs and hums of agreement passed through everyone, and Oscar felt closer to these people than he could have imagined. He loved them, he loved them all so much and he’d do _anything_ to protect them. Now he finally understood what kept them together, despite hailing from different kingdoms and different rungs of the social ladder, that shared sorrow and loss of one of the bravest Huntresses ever to live.

He felt grief well up inside him and breaking out as tears clouded his vision for someone he never knew, yet felt closer to knowing through her friends. He pulled his knees to his chest, his pants now covered in dirt and dust yet he didn’t care as he watched the dying flames. He jumped slightly when a hand was suddenly pressed to his shoulder. He looked around and saw that the rest of the group had retired to their tents and sleeping bags.

“Better get some rest. You’ve got a big part to play in this, can we count on you?” asked Jaune.

“To the death,” said Oscar solemnly.

And as they looked out upon the horizon, towards what could be their new future, these people knew that no matter what, no matter where, they would support each other. They would never let someone go down without avenging them, they would never allow anybody to die to Salem thinking they were not loved or cared for. And they certainly were not about to let Salem get away with taking Ruby Rose.


	3. Into The Lands of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yALL. 
> 
> this chapter features the incredible skill that @albion-93(tumblr)/Albion_93(Ao3) has when it comes to writing action/battle scenes!!! i think its absolutely incredible and we've been hard at work on this fic trying to make updates as quick as we can! ik we're all stuck inside rn refreshing Ao3 hoping for fics to update or be posted, so i really hope this'll help to keep u occupied :D
> 
> follow us on tumblr: @optimisticfruitcup & @albion-93
> 
> and check out our other works on Ao3: comicfangirlperson & Albion_93 !

Dawn was shrouded in a thick pall of grey clouds as Team RAYNBOW woke up and began their journey west towards the Lands of Darkness. They made their slow journey across the plain towards the mountains in silence and low spirits. Despite the ominous sky, there was no rain; instead a dry, cold wind rushed over them, and often against them on their path as if dissuading them from taking another step. 

Within the hour, they stood in the shadow of the jagged peaks that marked the border of Salem’s realm. Every now and then, one of them glanced back at the vast empty plain with a strange longing. Despite its sheer desolation, it was a more comforting sight than the baleful blackened rocks, sickly green lichen, and insidious veins of purple crystal that surrounded them. 

They trudged up steep gravelly slopes until the barren plain shrank into the distance, through the narrow passageways and squeezed through tight crevices to reach more open spaces, between gargantuan rocks so tall that they almost blocked out the sky. The air filled with a hot, repulsive odor from steaming geysers and cracks in the ground that stung the eyes and made them all the more exhausted. They didn’t dare use their weapons or aggressive semblances to widen the narrow pathways or risk attracting unwanted attention. 

Moving in a single file, Jaune took the lead, while Weiss, Blake and Yang glanced up and down in search of sudden movement. Ren was in quiet contemplation, trying to find something truly alive out there while Nora stood close by him and held his hand. Bringing up the rear, Oscar remained silent. Every few minutes, he looked up, expecting to see a Nevermore come screeching out of the sky to snatch at one of his friends. Yet again, there was nothing. As they entered a wider part of the ravine, it could only have been a mercy that there seemed to be no Grimm in this area.

A shadow passed over them twice, followed by that dreadful squawking cry.

“Everyone, get down! Ren, we need you!” whispered Jaune through gritted teeth.

Panic surged within the group, and the already tense members of Team RWBY were close to snapping with the sudden threat just above them. Jaune pulled the whole team together and placed himself next to Ren so he could use his semblance.

“Everyone hold hands and don’t let go until I say so,” he ordered.

Ren began to extend his semblance over the whole team, with Jaune carefully amplifying it with a steady flow of his aura. They looked up silently, expecting the Nevermore to descend. Instead it merely circled the ravine a few times as if it were confused, but it was clearly looking for something. As long as Ren maintained his semblance, they were invisible to it. After a few minutes, the fell bird-beast flew away. Everyone let go of each others’ hands and breathed deep sighs of tremendous relief and congratulated Ren for his efforts.

“At least we know the plan works, so far so good, right?” said Oscar with a half-smile.

“At least,” Ren said in return, looking tired but relieved. 

Silently, the group returned to their trek, their eyes still scanning the skies for more enemies. Each of them was on edge, braced for a battle that may never come, so they walked together, holding onto hope as tightly as they could.

~*~

After two more hours, the path was starting to slope downhill, for Team RAYNBOW this was a welcome relief after that jagged, brooding rock labyrinth. But the sight of what laid ahead of them was anything but inspiring. The same sickly red sand and dirt stretching for countless miles, broken up by purple crystal and black rock outcroppings. Yet still, not a single thing moved on that vast, dark realm.

“So, we’re just about past the mountains,” said Jaune at last, turning to the group, “Let’s rest for half an hour, and then press on.”

The rest of the team just about collapsed on the ground and huddled close by to each other, sharing rations and drinking water. Weiss and Blake sat together with Nora and Ren. Jaune sat on the overlook, taking in the landscape in front of him. After five minutes of sitting in silence, tapping her finger on a stone in suppressed irritation, Yang got up and tapped Oscar on the shoulder, gesturing towards Jaune.

“I think we should decide which way we’re going,” said Yang bluntly, facing Jaune and Oscar.

“Good point. So, Oscar, where do we go next? It... looks the same in every direction,” said Jaune pessimistically, gesturing towards the expanse.

“We'll keep a straight path west through that passage,” said Oscar, pointing towards a gap in the outcroppings at the edge of the horizon, “While there’s no road to Evernight, those rocks form a loose circle around the castle and act as a natural obstacle against full scale invasion.”

“Okay, that doesn’t look _too_ far away,” said Jaune a little more hopefully.

“It’ll take the rest of the day to get there on foot, and another three days just to get to the center of the circle,” said Oscar melancholically.

“Not to be rude or anything, but any chance that Ozpin could come out and share some vital info with us?” asked Yang brusquely, her arms folded.

Oscar looked at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a heaviness filling his voice, “No. I’ve tried reaching for him, but... I think he’s worried about us facing Salem. Maybe… maybe he’s just holding back until the right moment.”

“It’s alright, just let us know when he’s ready to talk,” said Jaune supportively.

“Are you two serious?! That’s my damn _sister_ out there! And with every minute she could be tortured by Salem or freaking _dead_ ! And you’re _not_ gonna ask the man who’s always had all the answers?!” Yang ranted, her eyes flashing red. 

“I _just_ told you I _can’t_ reach him!” snapped Oscar, angrily holding his ground in front of her. This caught the attention of the rest of the group. Weiss shied back nervously, and Nora and Ren shared worried glances.

“Would you two _please_ stop yelling?!” pleaded Blake in a strained voice as she put her arms between Yang and Oscar, “This isn’t helping any of us, least of all Ruby! I’m scared for her too, we all are, but we’re not going to save her unless we keep our heads on. If Oscar says he can’t get Ozpin to talk, then there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Thank you, Blake,” sighed Jaune, holding the bridge of his nose, he looked Yang in the eye and spoke in a quiet, stern voice, “Take that tone with _any one_ of my teammates again, Yang, and I’ll send you back to Vale without hesitation. We can’t save Ruby with in-fighting, you and I both know this better than almost anybody else here. We have to trust each other… please.” 

Yang looked at her teammates, and sighed in deep frustration and regret, “You’re right, I’m sorry, Jaune. Sorry, Oscar. We got a lot of ground to cover and I don’t wanna let any of you down. I promise, you have my support. So, who wants to rest for a bit longer?”

~*~

No matter how high Weiss flew into the crimson cloudy skies atop her summoned Lancer, she could not see Evernight Castle. Fortunately, the distant rocky passage Oscar pointed out was looking a lot clearer. The strange stinging sensation on her skin and around her eyes as the bitter winds buffeted against her felt as though they had a consistent malice and cruelty to it. She scanned the skies and lands below her; she could see the occasional pack of Beowolves roaming about in the distance, and the odd Beringel lumbering between them. 

She sighed in relief, they weren’t actively hunting her team just a few hundred feet beneath her. Suddenly a loud shriek filled the air, followed by another and then another. Six Nevermores were gliding straight towards her. Worse still, the distant packs were starting to stir, as though some malevolent will was driving them forward. This would be fun...

She dive-bombed straight downwards, keeping a steady hand on her summoned flying mount. Below, Jaune, Yang, Ren and Oscar looked up towards her, already alert on their journey.

“Guys! We have incoming Grimm! Get ready!!” she cried out.

“Guess this was inevitable,” murmured Jaune in frustration, he turned to his teammates, “Group together guys and stand your ground! We can’t let them pick us off one by one!”

“Right! Let’s do this!” yelled Yang eagerly with Ember Cecilia primed up.

“What about Blake? And _where_ is Nora?!?” cried Ren, barely able to keep his cool.

“I’ll signal them to your location, they will absolutely tip the scales in our favor,” said Weiss, offering a calming smile.

“And what are you gonna do?” asked Oscar, equally worried.

“These Nevermores won’t just fly themselves away. I’ll handle them,” said Weiss with icy determination before flying off.

With Crocea Mors raised, eyes wide open for any movement and his already strong aura at full charge, Jaune was more ready for this battle. And he knew this was going to be easy compared to what would come later.

The Beowolves came rushing out from behind the rocks, snarling and roaring with gnashing teeth. Jaune brought Crocea Mors in a clean downward slash, cleaving through the first beast’s skull, knocked another off balance with his shield and blasted a couple back with his aura wave. Two more rushed Yang, and with her legs rooted down she sent blow after blow into the Beowolves, holding back from using her semblance but still yelling with mighty fury.

Oscar ducked, bobbed and weaved past the charging Beowolves, landing quick blows with Long Memory. Unfortunately, only a few managed to reduce the vile beasts to dust, Long Memory for all its age was not as efficient as the weapons of his comrades. Bullets zoomed past him and one of the Grimm met its end, he turned to see Ren standing with smoke rising from the nozzle of Storm Flower, nodding reassuringly.

In the air, Weiss made long, sweeping turns and dives to throw the six Nevoremores off her trail. She swerved and doubled back, flying straight towards the leader of the pack, with Myrtenaster drawn, gesturing the symbol for fire dust and thrusting the inflamed blade into the eye of the first Nevermore. Her vision blackened as the dust from the defeated Grimm swirled around her and she made a swift decline away from the rest of the pursuing flock. Seeing a tall outcropping of rocks beneath her, she dived and accelerated, luring the fell birds into a narrow passage just large enough for her to fly through. 

Suddenly, fatigue came over her and her Lancer started to weaken. Realizing she would not have much more strength for a protracted fight, she somersaulted off her Lancer and landed like a white bird of prey upon the sands of a beach. The rocks fragmented on impact as the crazed birds crashed into them, the first couple turning into dust as tumbling boulders crushed their heads. Two more swerved upwards to avoid collision and began circling again, angrily squawking. 

She heard a terrible crash to the ground followed by a furious shriek, and went cold. Turning slowly, determined to show no fear, to see the largest of the Nevermores on ground level, snipping its beak eagerly. Though dwarfed considerably, she stood her ground. Then something caught her eye. She looked up and saw a streak of black and white descending from _above_ the Nevermore. It was Blake.

Brandishing Gambol Shroud’s katana mode, the faunus huntress yelled and plunged it into the Nevermore’s wing. The monster shrieked in agony and rage and turned its attention to the leaping and bounding Blake, parkouring around boulders, leading the wounded bird away from Weiss. She swiveled under the bird’s remaining good wing and reached the Nevermore’s throat with Gambol Shroud and sliced clean through.

“Great job, Blake!!” cheered Nora as she charged out from behind a rock and stood right beside the astonished Weiss. She was effortlessly carrying around Magnhild, and wiped a light sheen of sweat from her brow like it was nothing. It was enough evidence for Weiss to determine that Blake had been launched at great speed and altitude by Miss Valkyrie. 

The two remaining airborne Nevermores prepared to descend.

“ _WHO’S UP FOR ROAST TURKEY!?!_ ”

Weiss jumped as Nora bellowed out to the sky and switched Magnhild into grenade-launcher mode.

“Come on, come to mama,” she murmured determinedly, her eye set on the viewfinder. 

The first nevermore screeched leaving its beak open. For Nora, the setup was perfection. She pulled the trigger. The rocket soared and found its mark - inside the beast’s maw. The beak clamped shut. Fire and smoke erupted from where its head used to be, followed by a thunderous boom and black dust.

Weiss stepped back and set her eyes on the second Nevermore, just slightly further behind. Feeling slightly more pumped up at having relief from Blake and Nora, she prepared to summon the Arma Gigas. As the monolithic statue of armor rose up from her summoning glyph, kneeling down before standing tall with its sword raised. Swinging in a wide arc, the blade plunged to the bird’s chest.

“Alright gals,” Nora said, breathing heavily, “Now let’s go help our friends!”

Jaune, Yang, Ren and Oscar were back to back, glaring back and their surrounding foes; an intimidating throng of Beowolves, joined by Beringels, Ursas and Boarbatusks, snarling and stomping their limbs on the ground and all manner of savage displays of fury and edging closer and closer. Oscar was starting to panic, he was looking up and down for any signs of Weiss, Blake and Nora.

“Any ideas, guys?” he said, extremely worried.

“I, uh, I vote that you use your magic!” cried Yang.

“Seconded,” added Ren.

“Third! Right, kiddo, show ‘em what you got!” encouraged Jaune, patting his partner on the back.

“Oh, great, no pressure!” snarked Oscar. He plunged Long Memory into the ground and mustered all his concentration into this one focal point. He closed his eyes, and breathed deep to maintain his focus. He felt the energy starting to flow through him, a slight hissing and electrical pulsating sensation building around him. He opened his eyes; the familiar green shield sphere surrounded him. He yelled and charged forward.

“No, Oscar, DON’T!” yelled Jaune, reaching his arm out.

Too late, Oscar was already on the move, barreling straight into the Grimm and sending those caught in his way to fly backward, causing the creatures to retreat back and snap at his protective shell. The monstrous Grimm apes pounded on the green energy sphere but still it held up. In a few seconds, Oscar was far ahead of his teammates and drew off Beowolves, Boarbatusks and Beringels. He stopped at the top of a high column of rock a few hundred feet away from his teammates, surrounded on all sides and the creatures started to climb. 

He relinquished the sphere spell, and set all of his willpower to the singular thought: _lightning_. He thrust Long Memory into the rock just as the Grimm readied to charge him. Green bolts of electricity surged from the bottom of the cane, pulsating through the Grimm and causing them to howl in agony as several dissipated into dust. Sweat began to gather on Oscar’s forehead and fall down his face, and his muscles began to ache as the energy began to dissipate. 

A silver sword the size of a tree came sweeping down on the multitude of Beowolves and Boarbatusks, he looked to his left and saw a massive armored column standing by him. He looked up, past the breastplate to a helmeted knight glaring down on the hoard, and on its right shoulder stood Weiss with a victorious smirk. 

The Arma Gigas lunged forward and swept aside the Grimm, stomping down with furious vigor, black dust rising up around it. This was followed by the shrill battle yell of Nora, swinging Magnhild into their skulls and cutting through the teeming mass of Grimm. Blake sped along the outskirts towards Jaune, Yang and Ren, providing rapid-fire support to Nora and her surrounded teammates.

Oscar flinched back as the Arma Gigas’ sword swung just a few feet away from him, but quickly found resolve in sending bolts of electricity through the Long Memory as he jumped back into battle. He bobbed and weaved between them, sending super-charged bolts with thrusts of the cane. He glanced ahead, and saw Jaune was starting to slow down. He went cold in fear, and his pace became quickened and frantic. He was now dodging Grimm and attracting them rather than fighting them. 

He saw them getting closer, and closer. 

They were right behind him. 

Almost there…

“ _DUCK!_ ” yelled a voice. 

He couldn’t tell whose. Instinct kicked in. He ducked.

He glanced up and saw the leaping Grimm out of the corner of his eye and a blast of gleaming silver energy washed over him, and the Grimm disintegrated. He followed the direction of the energy blast, and realized it wasn’t that at all but a silver sword. The Arma Gigas stood tall above him, vigilant and on guard, with Weiss atop it’s shoulder offering a reassuring smile.

Within a minute, the whole team had regrouped and the Grimm horde had thinned out. They were bloodied and determined, and they were not giving any quarter. When the last Beowolves and Boarbatusks retreated in fear, the group finally got a chance to catch their breath. 

Jaune panted and hunched over on his knees, glancing towards everyone to make sure they were alive. Blake was tending to a scratch Yang had sustained at the end of the fight just as her aura had drained, the latter flinching as her girlfriend worried over the wound. Weiss inspected her dust reserves with a grimace, whatever it was was not what she had hoped to see. Ren, Nora and Oscar sat side by side, leaning into each other and recovering from the exhaustion.

“Amazing work, guys,” said Jaune, offering a small smile to the team, “Nora, you hammered those Grimm into the freaking dust! Ren, you were awesome! Yang, Blake, great moves, both of you! And you, Weiss, you were _on fire_ with all that flying and the Arma Gigas swinging left and right!”

“It was my _pleasure_ ,” said Weiss confidently, with a hand on her chest as she felt her heart race, “I thought we all did rather well.”

“We should keep going,” said Oscar abruptly, standing up and trying to walk off with Long Memory in hand.

“Oscar, buddy! Don’t think I forgot about you! That lightning trick was next-level awesome! Salem better watch out and...” Jaune’s excitement faltered immediately as he saw the serious look on Oscar’s face.

“We’ve lost too much time with this fight, and the pass is still hours away,” he said.

“Is that still you talking, or has Oz decided to come out?” he questioned harshly.

“It’s still me, Jaune, but I _am_ feeling his emotions right now. He’s apprehensive and agitated. He wants us to keep moving if we want to avoid another fight like that and lose maybe half a day to get to Evernight Castle and save Ruby.”

“Okay, yeah, alright,” Jaune groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.

“It’s really important we stay on the move, guys,” Oscar added softly, his posture still stiff and anxious.

“You know, sometimes I worry that one day it _will_ be Oz speaking through you,” sighed Jaune, offering his hand in apology, which Oscar gladly accepted, “But we still _need_ to rest.”

“Yup, after a fight like that, I don’t think we can be as quick about it as we were before the Grimm attacked,” said Yang somewhat defeated.

“We still _have_ to try,” said Weiss, “Even if we have to walk a bit slower for longer, as long as we get to the pass we’ll be back on schedule, right?”

“I hope so,” murmured Oscar, “How about ten more minutes of recovery, then we go on?”

With nods and murmurs of approval, Team RAYNBOW savored the quiet of the wilderness and the warmth of each other’s company. Though battered and tired, all of them wanting to take a much longer rest, what they wanted even more was for this seemingly never-ending battle to be over. So, with heads held high and tired eyes as alert as could be, they continued on their way to Evernight Castle.


	4. Through the Forest of a Thousand Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions are strong as RAYNBOW weathers the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was literally o much fun to work on with @abion-93(tumblr)/Albion_93(Ao3)! His writing is absolutely iconic and im so lucky to be working on such a big project with him!! :D
> 
> We really hope that yall enjoy this chapter!! <3

Jaune’s muscles ached from the slow going across the Lands of Darkness. He was cold and sore, shivering from the unrelenting winds; looking about and seeing the same desolate crags and violet crystals jutting angrily out from the ground, didn’t much help his mood. But looking out upon his team strengthened his resolve, however the knowledge that they were in the exact same position only made him feel defensive, _protective _. While they were all here by varying degrees of choice, it didn’t change how Jaune felt about the people who had become his family.__

Oh, how badly did Jaune wish he could lie down for five minutes and just rest, but the inhospitable terrain drove out any notion of rest from his mind. Even thinking about why they were out here in the first place sent adrenaline rushing through his veins. They had a job to do, and nothing would stop them from either seeing it through to the end, or die trying.

Jaune sighed softly to himself as he surveyed the path ahead. Team RAYNBOW had set up camp in the shadow of the pass between the two rocks Oscar pointed out the previous morning. The following two days were uneventful, but strange for one reason alone; they saw plenty of Grimm at a distance, but _no attacks _. Night had just fallen, with an angry red sky above them with dark violet clouds and the same fragmented moon looming larger over them than they had ever seen it anywhere else in Remnant. They needed somewhere to make camp for the night but everywhere he looked was too open and exposed. And they were being followed.__

Next to him, Ren and Nora were eyeing the Grimm suspiciously, their stances rigid and poised for attack, and Jaune honestly couldn’t blame them. After everything that had happened leading up to this, they were all right to feel on edge.

“This isn’t right,” Ren suddenly said, venom dripping from his voice.

Nora squeezed his hand, “I know. Grimm don’t act like this. There’s no reason for them to.”

“We don’t have time to worry about that,” Jaune regretfully pointed out, “We just need to keep going.”

Ren shook his head in disappointment, “Jaune, what good would we be if we make it to Evernight and aren’t even strong enough to lift a finger against Salem? We all want Ruby back as fast as possible, but we have to be smart.”

“I-” Jaune started, but was cut off with a kiss to his cheek from Nora, causing him to go bright red and flap his lips like a fish.

“Jaune,” she said sternly, “We love you, that will never change, but you are being incredibly dense right now.”

“Let’s take a minute to breathe and think this through,” Ren suggested, gaze still lingering on the Grimm. Jaune took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and did just that.

“Okay, what do we know about the Grimm?”

“They’re attracted to negative emotions,” Ren immediately said.

“They tend to travel in large packs,” Nora added.

“Some are nearly impossible to kill.”

“They only die by being killed purposefully.”

Jaune nodded, “What did we learn most recently? About the origins of the Grimm?”

“They were made by Salem- OHHH!” Nora quickly realized what Jaune was getting at.

“She knows we’re coming,” Ren whispered, head hung low.

“And… she wants us to come,” Nora murmured, wrapping an arm around Ren’s shoulders.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Jaune admitted, crossing his arms over his chest tiredly, “But we don’t have a choice. We have to do this.”

While they were still reeling from this information, things seemed to only get worse.

“Uh, guys?” started Yang, pointing directly in front of them, “What’s that?”

JNR turned to face the rest of the group, and saw exactly what she was worried about.

Something ahead of them gleamed pale in the baleful moonlight. It was a wide expanse of grey with dark shadows inside, tall columns and limbs branching in and amongst themselves. It stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction towards Evernight.

“It… it looks like some kind of petrified forest,” said Blake, her eyes wide at this discovery, “This land was probably green and pleasant like many parts of Remnant, before Salem ruined it.”

“Creepy...” murmured Nora, edging closer to Ren, who simply nodded in agreement.

“Let’s keep moving. We might even find someplace to make camp,” said Jaune.

“We’re not going in there, are we? There has to be some way around!” exclaimed Weiss.

“I’m sorry, Weiss, but this forest stretches in every direction,” said Oscar nervously, “The only way to Evernight is through it.”

“Well, it’s either the forest or the Grimm, look!” exclaimed Yang, pointing towards the hill they just came from. Five Beowolves were pacing back and forth, angrily snarling. But not attacking.

“Alright, what are we going with, guys?” Jaune asked urgently.

They quickly made their way to the forest, the decision seemed like a no-brainer, even considering they’d have no choice but to go in there eventually. The group entered with Oscar in the lead, as he was the one who knew the correct path, and Yang by his side, Weiss and Blake were just behind them, and Jaune, Ren, and Nora brought up the rear.

At first there was nothing really different about the dead forest; it was very still and quiet, and stones were dislodged underfoot as they moved through it, barely different from the terrain they had left behind. They traveled deeper into the woods, to where the moonlight was lessened, and petrified trees leaned nearer and nearer around them, and holes gaped out like angry mouths on all sides. The branches tangled into a gnarled grey roof, strangling any miniscule shaft of light that came between them. The darkness advanced on them steadily, gathering all around them. Soon even they began to miss the ominous moonlight glow.

“We need to tell them,” Nora whispered anxiously. Her, Jaune, and Ren were still a couple yards behind the others.

“Maybe not yet,” Jaune murmured.

“We have to, Jaune,” Nora argued, “As quickly as possible. They need to know. No more secrets.”

He frowned, “We will. Maybe after the woods though, there’s… a lot going on right now, they shouldn’t be overloaded more than they have to be.”

“Jaune-” Ren started, but was quickly cut off by a shriek from Weiss.

They quickly caught up with the others. Weiss stopped and gasped in fright, she quickly glanced over her shoulder and blinked rapidly.

“Weiss, what’s wrong?” asked Blake, grabbing the Huntress’s shoulder and pulling her back protectively.

“I just… I thought I saw something. A little wedge-shaped face staring out at me… It vanished as soon as I saw it.”

“The Grimm, only explanation for it,” muttered Yang angrily, “They’re trying to scare us.”

“Scare us? That makes no sense. They’re Grimm. They attack. They kill. Why would they do this?” Blake asked, obviously on edge.

“Come on, let’s hurry,” urged Jaune, trying to shove down the guilt, and gesturing to the path ahead of them.

As the team quickened its pace, just shy of the point of running, they passed more round holes between the roots of the trees.

There were hundreds of them.

Then, the faces began to appear.

Each of the holes began to glow with little pairs of eyes starting to flash around them. They came from beneath their narrow pathway and above, among the petrified branches. Little narrow faces stared at them from their holes. Faces coming and going, glances of malice and hatred, all hard-eyed, evil, and sharp.

Then the shrill cries began. Like a cross between a whistle and a bird’s chirp. They started faintly, sounding more like the wind blowing through hollows in the branches. They came again much closer. Then, it went silent. Then it came again, much closer this time, Weiss and Blake cried out, Yang scooped both into either arm. Oscar squeaked and leapt next to Nora, looking about like an anxious cat.

“Guys...” whispered Weiss, holding tight to Yang.

“Jaune, listen,” whispered Nora, slowly reaching for Magnhild.

They could hear the distant rasping breaths. How could something so small make a sound like that? How close were they?

_Pat-pat-pat-pat_

They froze. The sound, like the shrill cries, started faintly and at first sounded like falling leaves. Only they knew immediately, there were no leaves in the forest.

_Pat-pat-pat-pat_

This was louder. A regular rhythm. Where were they coming from? Were they in front? On either side? Or behind?

The rhythmic pattering grew and multiplied. The whole wood seemed to be running now; running hard, hunting, chasing closing in around something. Or somebody.

It closed in on them.

Overcome with fear and hyperventilating Team RAYNBOW began to run, and immediately lost the path. They dodged between tree trunks, running underneath leaning trees, stumbling over the petrified roots jutting out from the ground and further into the petrified forest. All the while, the sound of shrill whistling and pattering feet rose steadily around them.

“HOLD IT!" yelled Jaune, skidding in his tracks, followed soon by the rest of the team doing the same whilst trying not to tumble into each other. He looked around, wherever they were they were hemmed in by thick tree trunks, and the path was gone.

“Tell me we’re not lost...” said Blake, her ears slowly lowering as she stared at Jaune.

“It doesn’t look like we’re on the path,” murmured Oscar, “but it’s not over for us yet, if one of us could climb into-”

Blake yelped in fright.

“I’m sorry, but I felt _something _brush up against my legs...__ ” she murmured, covering her mouth, __“__ What _is_ out there?”

“Whatever it is, let’s just get our weapons out! We’ll fight them!” yelled Yang, eyes flashing red.

“No,” Jaune said firmly, “We just need to get out of here. If we press on through we’ll be out fast.”

Blake eyed him angrily, “This isn’t something we can just ignore, Jaune. We’re lost!!”

He sighed exhaustedly, “I know we’re lost, that’s why we need to get out of here.”

“The more time we waste arguing the more time Ruby has to spend with Salem,” Ren reminded them.

Weiss took a defensive stance from where she stood between Blake and Yang, “Why put off the inevitable?”

“Why not just get out of here while we can?” Nora shot back, starting towards the path they were supposed to be on.

“Hey!” Yang shouted, stamping her foot forward aggressively, “I am done running, alright?!”

“She’s not wrong,” Ren said stiffly, glaring at Yang.

Oscar shifted uncomfortably from where he stood outside of the two groups, as they seemed to unintentionally split up, and felt himself grow scared and anxious. They were supposed to be working together to save Ruby, not driven apart because of fear! His gaze darted between the two groups, the arguing only seeming to get worse with each passing moment. He could feel the evil eyes staring down at them from their branches.

“Let’s not forget the real reason this is happening,” Weiss said coldly.

“Oh? And what would that be, _Miss Schnee? _”__ Nora growled.

Yang rolled her eyes, “Maybe if _somebody_ had followed the original plan and not tried to act like a hero we wouldn’t have _lost_ Ruby in the first place!”

Jaune flinched, and had regret painted all across his features, “If Ruby had done that she would have died-”

“ _At least she wouldn’t have been taken by Salem!_ ”

Both groups fell completely silent. The persistent shrill whistles and pattering remained, like an invisible cage of noises they could not break out of.

“I think,” Blake started softly, yet still hard and pained, “I think that maybe you all should go.”

“No,” Ren said, “We are not leaving you to face Salem alone.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time Team RWBY has had to clean up a mess all by themselves.”

“Blake-” Jaune gasped, hand stuck in the air as if he was reaching for her team; the faunus’ brows were deeply furrowed with distrust.

“We’re going to do this our way, because Ruby is our friend, our sister, our leader,” Weiss stated calmly, eyes glued on the forest floor.

Oscar felt his breath become caught in his chest, tears forming at the corners of his eyes as he quickly realized where exactly all of this was going.

“What are you guys doing?” he whispered in horror, and suddenly all eyes were on him, and his voice began to rise in disbelief and stifled anger, “I mean seriously, what is wrong with all of you? We came out here as… as a team, a family, with a promise to rescue one of our own and you’re just- you’re throwing that all away? Over something that has such an easy solution compared to literally everything else we’ve ever had to deal with? I can’t believe this is what you’ve resorted to- I…”

Yang suddenly looked very sad and guilty, much like everyone else, “Oscar, we just can’t-”

“Except we can!” he practically screamed, “We’ve done this a million times before and it doesn’t have to change now unless we want it to! Have you all seriously blamed and hated each other in secret this whole time? Think about it! Because if that’s the case then I have no clue what Oz was thinking when he said that you all would be the saviors of Remnant!”

Oscar sighed and hung his head, arms wrapped around himself as he subconsciously tried to make himself smaller and less of a target, “Teams don’t act like this, much less families. Something is wrong with all of you, and I don’t know what, but you have to pull it together. For Ruby.”

The panic and anxiety that came with speaking his mind threatened to take over completely, the only thing keeping him grounded was Oz’s soothing voice in his head reminding him to breathe. The teen shoved his face into his hands and squeezed his eyes shut tight, taking shaky and trembling breaths as he thought about what to do now. He was thoroughly surprised by being gathered into a giant and calming bear hug from Nora, she whispered apologies to him as she held him tight with a frown on her face and tears in her eyes.

“You’re walking right into her trap…” he finally said into Nora’s shoulder, holding her tight in his arms.

All six shared looks of confusion.

“What… what trap?” Jaune asked hesitantly.

Oscar pulled away from Nora, and scrubbed angrily at his teary eyes, “I don’t know it just… came out?”

“Ozpin,” Ren muttered, frustration seeping through.

“I’m sick of secrets!” Yang shouted, “He needs to tell us what’s going on right now!”

Nora looked at Jaune right in the eyes before she finally, “No, we need to tell you.”

“Yeah,” the knight admitted softly, “We do.”

“You haven’t actually been keeping secrets from us… have you?” Weiss asked, frightened and betrayed.

Ren looked her in the eyes, and grabbed Blake’s hand in one of his own, and rested the other hand on Yang’s shoulder, “Before we entered the forest, Jaune, Nora, and I figured out the reason the Grimm weren’t attacking us. Salem is letting us come to her, she wants us to come to her. We don't know why and we don’t know what that means for when we get to Evernight, but we were scared to tell you.”

“Scared to tell us?!” Yang shouted, pulling away from him sharply, “This is about my sister! This is about our family! You should’ve told us right away!”

“Except you were already on edge,” Jaune said softly, “Tensions were already high and… and we wanted to protect you from having to deal with anything more than you already were.”

Yang looked at him, completely shocked and taken aback, everything was still, but then her expression softened, and she grabbed his shoulders in her hands to make him look her in the eyes.

“Jaune, I understand why you did that, but you need to understand why it wasn’t okay. After… After Jinn, and then Atlas, secrets don’t have a place for us anymore. We have to save Ruby, we _have_ to, there’s just no way to do it by keeping secrets.”

He hugged her tightly, and whispered, “I’m sorry, to all three of you. We won’t do it again, we won't.”

“Did Ozpin know?” Blake asked Oscar tensely.

His gaze dropped to his feet, when he spoke his voice wavered from guilt and sorrow, “I… I think so? I don’t know… I think if he did he was trying to keep it from me too…”

“Oh, Oscar,” Weiss murmured, hugging him to try and heal the hurt evident in his expression, “I’m sorry. No matter what happened here, you’re not to blame.”

They all pulled away from each other, and seemed to unintentionally form a circle. Their faith in each other was found once again, and that determination each of them held was palpable. They were Team RAYNBOW, nothing could stop them, not even Salem.

“Let’s get out of here,” Ren said.

“How?” Weiss asked, “We’re lost.”

“Oh, um, actually the exit is that way,” Oscar said, face red as he pointed towards the direction Nora had originally been trying to go.

“I knew it!” she shouted, “I’m the queen for a reason, baby!”

Yang sighed and cocked her hand on her hip, “Yeah, okay maybe we should've just asked you in the first place.”

So, they traveled through the haunted forest, Oscar and Jaune in the lead, with Nora and Yang at the tail end. The sounds of the creatures and the feeling of being watched never left them, but it was easier to brave these dangers together, now that they had been reunified, the lack of secrets creating an air of trust with each other. It felt like forever, the group going as fast as they could even though they weren't necessarily being chased. Breathing was heavy and muscles ached and sweat was dripping down chins despite the cool air, but they kept going. They had to keep going.

When they broke through the last of the trees and out into the open night sky, Jaune thought he might start crying. That forest would haunt them forever, the things they had said to each other could never be taken back, but they would make it through anyways. They had to.

They breathed in the open air, and continued on their path, hoping to find a place to stop for the night, but then they saw it. Evernight, seemingly small and innocent from where they stood, but the knowledge of what lay there shook them to the core. Jaune was so scared of what they’d have to do now, but he managed to push that to the back of his head so he could look for a safe place to make camp.

Finally, they found it in a rock outcropping far enough from the forest for comfort, and secluded enough that it would be hard for anything to sneak up on them. They made quick work of setting up sleeping rolls and a campfire, pulling out the rations from their supply bags to have a dinner of sorts together. Even long after they had eaten, no one could bother to pull themselves away from the security of the group.

It was already past midnight as the campfire started to decline into dying embers, with only the lower parts of everyone’s faces illuminated by the warm glow. This was the last of the saved campfire wood they had saved before arriving in the Lands of Darkness. They sat in silence, and were still shaken by the horrors of the night. Most shared glances and nods of silent affirmation, they contemplated that this could well be the end for them. Evernight Castle lay ahead, and they would not stop until either Salem was finished for good, or they would face what lay beyond death itself. Oscar gasped as he remembered something.

“ _Miacis_...” he whispered.

“My-ah-what now?” said Nora, now shaken from her silence, her eyebrow raised in confusion.

“They’re small weasel-like Grimm, they used to raid my aunt’s farm, killing chickens and biting animals,” explained Oscar, looking everyone in the eye, “But I’ve never seen a pack this big before… I always used to be so scared when I saw just one, or even a couple.”

“Nothing strange about that,” said Weiss with her eyes narrowed.

“No, I think I understand now; they could kill any one of us with their whole pack, but they’re too small to tackle a whole group of Huntsmen and Huntresses. So, they create fear in their victims and grow stronger off it. They drive their victims mad with panic, paranoia and confusion, even inciting violence towards one another. They could sense we were on the verge of falling apart and made it worse. If we had split up, they would have picked us off one by one, making it easier for Salem to deal with us.”

“It’s scary to think they could have gotten us all,” said Blake quietly, holding her elbows.

“Okay, but why dwell on that now? Shouldn’t we be past that?” questioned Yang.

“It’s not that simple, Yang. I think what Oscar’s saying is that through understanding what Salem throws against us will we stand a chance of winning,” said Ren.

“It’s also a means of closure, once it’s out in the open the next day can be approached with a clear head,” added Blake, looking towards each of her friends “When it came to how we were to finally defeat Salem, I always imagined a whole army of Huntresses and Huntsmen against the biggest Grimm horde ever seen. Not just a few friends in the middle of her domain. Crazy, really.”

“I know! It's weird to think that by tomorrow night we’ll have made it to Evernight,” Nora murmured, poking the fire with a stick.

“You’re telling me, after years of being on the backfoot, taking the fight to Salem feels strangely fulfilling,” said Yang, glancing towards her metallic arm.

“It’s what we were meant to do,” Ren murmured, “This was the plan from the day we set at Beacon, even if we didn’t know it.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jaune smiled at Ren, gripping his fellow Huntsman’s hand tight.

“I suppose so...” said Weiss, at first slowly and sorrowfully, but started to look up hopefully “When all is said and done, I hope we can make a difference to the whole world one way or another. My younger self would never have imagined an… an adventure like this. Or all the friendships made along the way.”

“Even after losing all we have, we’re still here,” Jaune smiled ruefully, “I think that’s the most unbelievable part for me. After losing Pyrrha, I thought I’d die long before we got here. Yet here I am, with all of you.”

“Having seen so much of the world, the good and the bad, and remembering the times when we’ve lost hope and found it again. I’m prepared for whatever comes next. Whatever happens now to either of us, know that I am grateful for all the time we shared, to have you all as my friends and companions, a family I couldn’t have imagined. No Grimm, and certainly not Salem, will ever take that gift from me. Should it come to it, I will make sure Salem will not take your lives before my own,” declared Oscar.

He was pulled into Ren’s arms, “We won’t let anything happen to you, or each other.”

“We protect each other,” Yang told him with a tone that left no room for argument, “Also, if Ruby finds out you said that, she’ll be super mad at you. Just a fair warning.”

“What do you mean ‘if’?” said Weiss with a knowing half-smile.

Fond laughter rippled through the group, and a shared sense of confidence and apprehension lay on each of them; certainly an odd mix for anyone. They would face the next day the best they could, filled with strength in this family they had found, this family they had made for themselves. As the time for this last battle drew nearer, they reveled in the feeling of being together, because as much as they didn’t want to say it out loud, this could be the last time they were all here, like this. Each of them breathed it in. This could be done, and it would. By the next night, this war would be over, no matter how it ended, it would.

They owed that to everyone who had made sacrifices that brought them one step closer to Salem, to stop her.


	5. The Journey of Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RAYNBOW make their way into Evernight Castle, through the horrific hidden tunnel to the very foundations of Salem's fortress, they encounter old monstrous enemies from Volume 6 and an old friend who may well tip the scales in their favour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ordinarily, it's @comicfangirlperson who uploads new chapters to 'Infinite in Distance' but this time she has deferred to me because the majority of what was written for this chapter came from me, with crucial edits provided by my lovely partner. Of the two of us, she definitely gets into the heads of the characters better than I can, and nails certain character beats that give the whole story that much more personality and life.
> 
> At 5.3K words, this chapter was LONG in the making and certainly grew in the process. Hope you enjoy reading!!
> 
> \- Albion_93

Night and day in the Lands of Darkness were utterly distorted by the malevolent power that resided there. The oppressive red clouds smothering the sunlight created a sense of time being stretched thin, as though the world beyond its borders was now a distant dream. Thanks to weeks of practice sleeping rough in the countryside, Team RAYNBOW still made sure to get up at daybreak and began the final leg of their journey towards Evernight Castle. They knew that there would be no need to bring the camping equipment with them. The warmth and camaraderie shared among them the previous night had been eroded away by the stone cold realisation that this was the day. This was their first and greatest chance to save Ruby and bring justice to Salem.

This would be the day they had waited for.

Each of them looked out across the barren wilderness towards Evernight. The valley was silent, still and empty, the usual circling Nevermores and roving packs of Ursas and Beowolves were nowhere to be seen. In turn, this made everyone all the more nervous. Despite a minimal breakfast, Jaune felt cold and his stomach churned in fear of what lay in wait for them within the next few hours. He looked towards Nora; this whole land had really brought a damper on her spirits but here there was a quiet finality to her bearing. Ren looked equally stoic and distant, and his eyes darted between the comfort of being with Nora and isolating himself in some remote nook. Oscar stood apart with his eyes closed, maybe he was trying to calm himself or trying to reach Ozpin, but either way Jaune had to trust him to do the right thing for his team.

Ruby’s team had a different energy about them. Blake and Yang had a determined and coldness about both of them, almost to the point of fatalism, like they were prepared for whatever ending that was ahead of them, it would be together. This would be the end, one way or another. Weiss was pensive and quiet, and she stared out across the wasteland as though expecting to see something move.

“It’s too quiet,” murmured Weiss, holding her hands to her elbows, “You just know that she is out there, waiting for us to walk into her trap.”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to avoid,” said Jaune determinedly, clenching his fist. He drew everyone into a circle, with his team on his right, and Weiss, Blake and Yang to his left.

“Okay, we’ve been pretty lucky to get this close to Evernight, but if the Grimm have been watching us then we need to slip under the radar. There’s no way in Hell I’m letting us just walk up to the front door. We need the element of surprise.”

“With your help, I can max out my semblance for everyone to avoid being spotted,” said Ren, brows furrowed in stern resolve, “But we can only keep hidden for a short time.”

“Despite how deserted it looks out there, I’d feel a lot safer too. Knowing Salem, she probably has way more Grimm hidden somewhere,” added Yang warily, “If her plan is to let us walk up close enough to close to ambush and finish us off.”

“Where to now, Oscar?” asked Jaune.

“From… from what I remember, we need to head to a cliff-face overlooking a valley to the north,” he pointed to a secluded ridge overlooking the lands leading away from Evernight. From that distance, it looked no different than any other rock formation surrounding that ominous spire, but the way Oscar stared at it meant it must have had some significance to Ozpin, or one of his predecessors.

“So, we don’t go towards Evernight?” queried Blake, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

“No, we must not go near the castle,” urged Oscar, “Salem cannot know where we are entering Evernight from or when. The way in is through a narrow tunnel that leads us to the catacombs.”

“Great… more cramped and claustrophobic spaces,” groaned Nora, frowning sullenly. Ren patted her shoulder reassuringly.

“Wait, a tunnel?” exclaimed Weiss, “It cannot possibly be that easy!”

“What does it matter? As long as it gets us inside and to Ruby,” said Yang with a dark tone and serious eyes.

Wasting no more time, everyone locked their hands together with Ren as he prepared his semblance with Jaune channeling his strong aura into Ren. They began the final leg of the mission to save Ruby.

With Oscar taking the lead, they moved in silence between the outcroppings and deep crevasses, keeping as far from Evernight as possible while making sure not to lose sight of it. Eventually, they reached the top of the overlook and Oscar led them down a steep decline that led them to another barren plain. They were now at the base of the cliff. Oscar scanned the whole rock formation for any signs that there was an opening of some kind, even tapping Long Memory against the stone as though looking for a hollow in the wall. The rest of the team followed slowly behind him, patiently waiting for some kind of revelation within the next few minutes. They had been walking the length of the cliff for a few minutes when Oscar stopped.

“There it is!” Oscar exclaimed suddenly, pointing towards a strange inward fold in the cliff and began to run.

As they followed Oscar, there was something odd about the way the ground went up and down in tiny mounds around them, and odd bits of rusted metal lay half buried in the dirt. Blake immediately felt a shiver run down her spine. Something about this place felt off, which was no small feat considering what realm she was standing in.

And there it was; nestled in this narrow cleft in the bluff was a crudely boarded-up entrance carved through the sandstone. Inside was a narrow, claustrophobic tunnel, pitch black inside and barely wide enough for just one person to fit through, leading towards the spire. Assorted bits of metal, and decayed wooden crates lay strewn about. On closer inspection, these metal remains were shovels and pickaxes. This was a serious excavation effort.

“I don’t believe it…” murmured Ren, staring into the gaping black maw, “How is this still here?”

“I don’t know, and honestly I don’t really care,” Oscar said, sounding agitated and very uneasy, he quickly strode towards the entrance, “This is our way in.”

“Wait, what’s this?” said Blake suddenly from the back of the group.

She knelt down to one of the exposed crates, something was covered under a thick canvas, and she pulled it off to reveal a strongbox with a heavy padlock. Wasting no time, she unsheathed Gambol Shroud and split the lock open. Soon, Weiss, Yang, Ren and Nora crowded around. Jaune and Oscar hung back and looked at one another, both unsure just why they were so fascinated by this.

“I wouldn’t open that, it could be a trap,” Jaune warned.

The opened the box, and inside lay a simple little rolled up scroll.

“It looks like some kind of vellum scroll; an actual, old fashioned, pre-technology scroll. How odd…” said Weiss curiously, inspecting it closely.

“There are names on it, and dates. The language looks like Old Common Speech, this was outmoded hundreds of years ago,” said Blake, gently unfolding it, “I can’t make it out.”

Everyone turned to Oscar. He sighed and stepped closer, knowing that this sense of dread was going to linger with the group unless it was laid to rest as quickly as possible. He held the scroll and started to read.

_“I have evaded capture for now, but I know escape from this realm is slim. Better to starve or die of thirst than be tortured to death by her. I can only pray that she never discovers it. Enclosed in this document are the names of the brave men and women who accompanied me on this perilous mission to dig this tunnel, without whom this hidden passage to the lower halls of Evernight would be impossible. Humans and faunus who nobly overcame their mutual enmity to help defeat a common foe, to whom I am forever grateful and eternally sorry for the fate that overcame them…”_

The scroll slipped out of his hands, they were now too weak to even hold it. He looked back and forth between his team, and his own hands as though he was the culprit for this centuries-old and long-since hidden atrocity. A rush of horror came over the team, eyes widened and shocked gasps left the mouths of a few of them.

“No... no…” Oscar whispered in a broken voice, “H-He couldn’t have, he wouldn’t...”

“Those mounds we passed back there, they were _graves_ ,” murmured Blake, now starting to seethe with anger, “They were former slaves and criminals, liberated only to be dragged to a fate no worse than what lay within the Atlesian mines!”

Yang seemed to basically vibrate with anger, “How many more? How many more lives had to be sacrificed just for the narrowest chance of beating Salem?”

“I... I’m so sorry, I had no idea, no clue- This... this is terrible. H-How could he… he do this?” sobbed Oscar in ragged breaths, the guilt of his unnamed predecessor hit him like a freight train. He turned away from the team, and the threatening urge to run away grew in his mind. Someone grabbed his hand and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Hey, hey, Oscar, this is _not_ your fault,” Nora said firmly from where she had gathered him into her arms, “You are _not_ to blame for this one bit.” She glared at the others, “Isn’t that right, guys?”

“Our anger at what happened centuries ago is not going to help those who died, or help with our mission. We must press on,” urged Ren as he stepped beside Nora and Oscar.

“I’m sorry,” sighed Blake, her ears drooping down, “Somehow this all… hurts, knowing that so many had to die for this tunnel. I don’t blame you, Oscar, truly.”

“We’ll make their sacrifice count for something,” said Jaune sternly, “And let’s save Ruby.”

With their resolve restored, Team RAYNBOW gathered once more behind Oscar as he walked towards the cave entrance. He closed his eyes and raised Long Memory, allowing the singular thought of _light_ to come over his mind, and the silver orb gleamed with a radiant glow. The way ahead was lit up for a few feet, revealing uneven ground of soil and gravel. Drawing a deep breath, he stepped inside.

~*~

The dim light of the entrance had shrunk beyond their line of sight. Beyond the glow of Long Memory, the darkness was impenetrable, and they were _surrounded_ by it. The air was still, stagnant, heavy, like a putrid cloud that they could almost _touch_. The walls on either side were barely three feet apart, and the ceiling only just six feet above. A few among them coughed as the lack of fresh air was getting to them, and in doing so there was no echo or sense of space. Just the narrow tunnel, going on, and on, and on…

In the overwhelming blackness on either side, their senses of touch, smell and hearing had sharpened, grasping for anything solid to hold onto and searching for any sign of change. No one could tell how long they had been moving, perhaps far or maybe not far at all. Time and distance soon passed out of comprehension. An hour, two hours, three hours- How many hours had passed in this narrow hole?

But that was impossible, the very foundations of Evernight could not have possibly been further than an hour on foot, even with their slowed progress. Maybe they should have taken their chances with Salem’s forces on her doorstep... Still, Oscar persisted in maintaining the spell. It required all of his concentration and willpower to keep the magic flowing and Long Memory casting its light, and thankfully his teammates were silent apart from their quickened breathing and leaden footsteps. Fighting off both the fear and the underlying sense of claustrophobia, Oscar took deep breaths and kept pressing forward, scanning the way ahead for any change in the way ahead. He would glance back at Jaune for support, but the young knight was just as pallid and withdrawn as everyone else, and could only offer a faint smile as encouragement.

Suddenly, the sound of someone stumbling was heard behind him. Oscar whipped around, and saw Blake pressed up against the wall, crying softly, her hand grasped tightly around Yang’s.

“Please, just make it stop... ” the faunus sobbed quietly, “This whole place just feels so- so _wrong_... ”

They were too tightly packed for anyone else to move to her aid, but everyone shuffled around the best they could to allow Jaune through.

“Blake, are you okay?” Jaune asked gently.

“No, no I’m not! This tunnel is making me feel _sick_ ,” she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, Yang moving a hand to Blake’s shoulder to help as well, “Oscar, can you remember anything about this place? How close are we to the castle?”

“We’re going as fast as we can, Blake, and we _will_ get there,” said Oscar sympathetically, “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us to rest here.”

Bearing up the rear, Weiss held onto Nora for support, both glancing around them for any signs of unwanted movement. Ren felt off, almost _ill_ , and suddenly he started to get a sense of what Blake meant. He closed his eyes and attempted to enter a meditative state, but the impenetrable darkness around him had filled his mind. As he tried harder to reach a state of pure calm, a realization shook him. His eyes flew open and a gasp left his lips.

“They can sense us!” he whispered harshly, immediately holding everyone’s attention, “But l think there’s something else out there. Something that’s starting to mess with us.”

“What could it be?” asked Nora, even more worried.

“I don’t know, something about this just... feels different than any Grimm I’ve sensed before.”

“Blake, please, we can’t stay here,” Yang said, hoisting her onto her feet.

“I would run ahead to find the end of this tunnel, but we can’t split up,” asserted Oscar, gesturing towards the ongoing darkness with Long Memory.

But something caught his eye. It was a faint, distant violet glimmer, flashing for a moment out of the corner of his eye. He waved Long Memory ahead of him again in an attempt to coax it out, whatever it was. There it was again, faint but undeniable. They were within walking distance of the very foundations of Evernight.

“Guys, come quick! I think we’ve reached the end of the tunnel!” cried Oscar with newfound excitement.

Jaune looked among his teammates, each glowing with renewed drive and energy, Blake rose to her feet without hesitation or fear, and all followed behind Oscar’s lively strides towards the violet glimmer. As they moved closer and closer, they could see the distant violet gleam growing larger and more pronounced as it reflected the light from Long Memory, blocking the tunnel entirely. A closer look revealed the reflective sheen of the same violet crystals as those dotted all over the Lands of Darkness, and especially Evernight Castle.

This was it. This was the very foundation of Salem’s fortress.

Still maintaining his concentration on the light spell, Oscar began searching up and down looking for some kind of opening. But there was nothing. He looked around the edges of the crystal, but there did not appear to be any sign of weakness in the structure, nothing to put pressure on and potentially break it wide open. He tapped the very top part of the crystal with Long Memory, and it gave a dull and heavy ringing sound with no echo. It was solid all the way through. He tapped the center, and the ringing was lighter, more resounding and produced a louder echo. It was definitely hollow. Then he saw it; a minuscule line stretching around the edge of the tunnel, tiny dust particles jammed between two sides of the crystal. A strange sensation emanated from Long Memory, as though there was a connection between it and the crystal.

“How do we get through?” asked Weiss, sounding less nervous than before, “I don’t suppose there’s a hidden keyhole somewhere?”

“Something tells me this isn’t one of those doors where you speak the password and it magically opens, right?” snarked Nora, arms folded.

“No, my predecessor must have taken extra precautions to not leave it exposed,” murmured Oscar, his head felt unexpectedly heavy but he could not tell if this was the strain of keeping the light spell going for so long or something else, “I think this was first closed with magic, and must be opened the same way.”

“Well, then use it!” said Yang, her usual urgency sounded more strained than usual.

“Yeah, but here’s the thing; I need to stop using the light spell and channel what energy I have left into a blasting spell and force it open. I’m sorry, but we’re gonna be without light for a few seconds,” warned Oscar.

This jolted a great deal of fear into everyone’s faces, bad enough that they had been packed together in a narrow, enclosed tunnel with only one light source. But to lose that even for a few minutes was almost too much worry to deal with. Quick glances and small nods of approval and understanding were shared among them; they would endure a few seconds of darkness if it meant escape from this hole. Oscar closed his eyes and began the spell.

The light went out.

Gasps and shudders of fright escaped each of them, and a few shut their eyes reflexively as though something worse lay in that pitch blackness. A few outstretched their hands in search of those of their friends’ and held on tight.

Oscar’s mind raced as memories that were not his own came rushing forward, and in that swirl of images came a one of a hooded man levitating the crystal in front of him with Long Memory in hand. He knew what he had to do now. The strain on him was starting to build, made worse by the impenetrable blackness that enclosed them. Yet he still thought of his friends, the people behind him, his friend Ruby who he knew was within their reach, all the brave warriors who died on this journey to save the world, and of his aunt whom he dearly missed. Then it came to him, stronger than it had been in a long time, he felt it pulsing through his veins and his eyes glowed golden. Oscar channeled the power with a single thought: _forward_.

A loud, thunderous crack washed over Team RAYNBOW, compounded by the narrow space surrounding them. They opened their eyes and saw a dim violet luminescence emanating from the walls of a chamber directly ahead of them. Shivers ran through to their very bones; they knew exactly what this meant. They raced ahead with Oscar taking the lead, all the more determined to escape that awful tunnel, and filed into the chamber with their weapons drawn and taking defensive positions.

After being cramped together for what felt like hours, it was a relief to be able to feel the open space around them. The chamber walls stretched upwards, with a dozen enormous forged iron gates with no windows or bars and each with long iron chains on both ends surrounding them. Looking around, they saw long strands of a dark green fleshy substance pulsating and stretching up the walls.

“It looks like some kind of dungeon,” said Weiss quietly, “And I bet Ruby’s in one of those cells!”

“I don’t think so, Weiss,” said Yang with a frown, “If that was the case, she would have heard that massive rock fall over and she’d call out for help right now.”

“What I don’t understand is why would Salem have a chamber like this?” questioned Ren, “It looks like a dungeon, but it’s hard to imagine her keeping scores of prisoners.”

“Maybe we should just keep moving,” said Blake, her voice wavering.

“There’s a spiral staircase just up ahead,” Oscar pointed out.

True enough, there was a single narrow staircase circling upward, looking pathetic and fragile against the towering expanse above them. They pressed on, not letting a second slip by for banter or questions. But Ren’s observation remained in the back of their minds, and he had a tendency to be correct about a considerable number of those. The terrible feeling that something was near never left them. And all it took was an innocent step in the wrong place, over a thin strand of the dark green flesh-substance to alert the guards.

The first they felt was an overwhelming heaviness, even their weapons felt oppressively burdensome, followed by a feeling like their heads were weighed down and throbbing in pain. Their resolve, their memories, and even their sense of self became muddied.

“What’s happening to us...?” groaned Jaune, raising his hand to his temple as though overcome by great exhaustion.

“I-I felt this before.... in the tunnel, much... stronger now...” moaned Ren, trying to keep himself straight and struggling to maintain his composure. 

“We… have to keep going… we… Ruby,” droned Nora, nearly dropping Magnhild.

“Guys… guys it’s… it’s them,” mumbled Blake fearfully, trying to keep her eyes wide and awake.

“No… no, please...” Weiss nearly sobbed.

The chains began to clink. A loud and angry mechanical noise as the iron doors creaked shrilly from the rust on their hinges. The deathly moan of dozens of low, croaking voices rose from each of them. Scores of long, spindly arms reached out under the gaps in the doors. This jolted Team RAYNBOW enough to cover their ears at the awful sound and for the cold rush of fear-driven adrenaline to kick in.

“Might still… have some energy… left...” strained Oscar, lifting Long Memory and trying to clear his mind to create lightning, but the will to conjure it was barely in him. He was exhausted. He was close to collapsing when Jaune’s steadying hand landed on his shoulder.

“I knew… something was wrong,” drawled Ren, barely able to lift StormFlower to aim.

“Get up those stairs…. NOW!”

Yang managed to muster enough energy to yell the last word, as she grabbed as many of her friends as she could and ploughed ahead towards the staircase. Behind them, the doors had fully opened and the Apathy came shambling out and forming a tight-packed circle around them, reaching out with their terrible life-draining mind spell, and their black arms reaching out like evil branches. With Oscar taking the lead, he made as quick an ascent up the stairs as he could, with Ren on long-range support, the others following along as quickly as they could manage. The fiery dragon of a Huntress glared at the Apathy with crimson eyes, practically daring them to step closer, fuelled by memories of the time when she and all her team, along with Oscar and Qrow, almost died. She was more than ready to deliver payback to them.

Never taking her eyes off the shambling horde, Yang slowly backed up, gingerly finding her footing up the spiral stairs as the rest of her team climbed as quickly as they could. Just as she could feel her head weigh heavily, Jaune yelled and charged forward as a blast of aura burst from his shield and putting some much-needed distance between them and the apathy.

Raining missiles and bullets from their high vantage point, Ren and Nora kept the Apathy from getting too close to Yang and Jaune now that their heads were slightly clearer. But the going was still painstakingly slow in relation to their destination, which was still out of sight. On and on the Apathy crawled up the stairs, arms reaching as if to drag them into a sickly embrace of unlife.

“We don’t stand a chance against them like this! We need silver eyes!” shouted Yang.

“We happen to be one silver-eyed warrior short,” commented Weiss, casting as many glyphs as she could even with her concentration flagging.

“I’m going to go get her!!” Blake called out from a much higher point up the staircase than anyone, including Oscar, and was still shooting with Gambol Shroud. She stared out, trying to find some nook to latch onto.

“Are you crazy?! Don’t do it! I’ll go!” yelled Yang, glancing up at her girlfriend with eyes beset by anguish mixed with the fury of combat.

The rest of the team exchanged worried glances, Yang was one of their best fighters and while her love for Ruby was obvious for all to see, this was no time to let her go.

“You’re needed here to help hold the line against those things! I already have a high vantage point,” said Blake with more clarity than she had when they first found the tunnel.

From the moment the Apathy reappeared, she remembered how much she had succumbed to their numbing pull, how she lay prone on the ground with lifeless eyes staring out, how close the bone-white claws of one came to slitting her throat. Then Ruby, still holding onto hope, still holding on to life, called out her name with anguish and pain in her voice, born out of love for her friends. She owed it to her to try.

“Blake! Wait! Just listen to me!” cried Yang, now bolting up the stars to catch up to her with Weiss behind her. Jaune still held the front, alongside Nora, ceding more and more ground to the Apathy, but they just kept coming with no end in sight.

But too late. With Gambol Shroud switched to kusarigama mode, and having chosen a narrow indentation in the crystal wall, she aimed and threw the grappling hook. The blade swung as it raced through the air and hit its mark. She leaped and swung, using the speed of her descent to gather momentum as she held tight. She released and prepared to swing again, concentrating on the next highest point she could perceive.

“Weiss! Glyphs! Now!” yelled Yang, tearing herself away from her lover’s ascent and returned to fighting the Apathy.

Wordlessly, Weiss summoned her mid-air platform glyphs, forming a path up and around the spiral staircase. Smiling briefly at her friends’ display of teamwork, Blake continued to leap and swing with Gambol Shroud in grappling hook mode, ascending higher and higher.

The exit was in sight.

Starting to feel fatigued, Blake made one last effort to swing Gambol Shroud so that it would just touch the precipice.

It found its mark.

Pulling herself up, she sighed deeply as her feet touched solid ground. She looked through the doorway, it was a long dimly lit corridor in the same dark violet crystal as before. She glanced down; the black mass of the Apathy was now thronging with more types of Grimm.

She ran. She darted along the wide empty hallways, and skidded at turns, cutting marks in the wall to mark her trail. She kicked down doors to find empty rooms, swiftly doubling back on dead ends and running untested paths. There were no Grimm as of yet but she knew it was only a matter of time…

Then, she heard a voice yelling, followed by loud crashes, laser beams and the sounds of… a blizzard?

Blake switched Gambol Shroud to Katana mode. The next thing she saw was a pack of Beowolves fleeing in terror from the other end of the hallway, only to be sliced apart by a barrage of sharpened icicles, and the last one with a blast of green laser energy. A girl floated down in front of her, spinning blades hovering precariously over her head like a halo. She stopped and stared, and both girls gasped at each other.

“Blake Belladonna?” asked a sweetly familiar voice.

“Penny? Is that actually you?!” said Blake, blinking rapidly. Surely this was another illusion!

“Correct! Salutations!!” beamed the overjoyed Winter Maiden with an eager salute.

Yes. That was definitely Penny. Blake smiled in spite of herself.

“You were the first familiar life-form I identified as I made my descent. And you seemed to be running. What’s the situa-”

“The Grimm are down that staircase and our friends are gonna die!” shouted Blake, dragging Penny in hand back the direction she came. Suddenly she felt the synthetic hand slip out of her grasp. She stared incredulously, and blinked as Penny slowly started to levitate.

“Then there’s no time to lose!” she exclaimed and rushed forward, arms stretched out.

Before Blake could think, she was scooped up in Penny’s arms as she propelled forward, following the trail she had left with pinpoint accuracy back towards the spiral staircase. Before long they had reached the top of the staircase leading into the dungeon. What they saw terrified her; her team had advanced a little further up the stairs but they were now lying down, every fighting instinct was drained from them.

“Targets confirmed.”

Blake glanced toward Penny mere seconds too late; she was already descending at high speed upon the Apathy and other assorted Grimm types at the bottom of the stairs. Her green laser beams burned through them, followed by her spinning blades, reducing the advance guard of the Apathy horde to dust. She hovered over Yang and reached for her hand, hoisting to her feet. Yang’s eyes, having glazed over as a result of the Apathy, sparked back to life and widened.

“Help me get our friends to safety,” said Penny.

Yang nodded and immediately set to Jaune, Ren and Nora and gave them a firm shake and lift onto their feet, reassuring them that Penny had arrived. Already starting to regain their strength, they ran up the stairs as fast as they could. Meanwhile, Penny extended her hands to a stirring Weiss and Oscar and holding both in each arm, flying at full power and depositing them safely at the top of the staircase into Blake’s arms. She surveyed the Grimm horde, her hands balled into fists and her eyes burned with green flame.

Now hovering without her rocket boots, magic surged through her aura and super-charged systems. Snowflakes started to form around her, growing larger and spinning faster and more fierce, soon sharpened shards of ice gathered momentum around her as she fixed her gaze on the Grimm. Raising both her arms, she channeled the power of Winter upon the Grimm, sending pillars of ice and snows down upon them, rending flesh and burying them alive, causing black dust to rise where the beasts fell.

The power filled the entire hall. The painful moans of the Apathy were drowned out by the whistling winds and crackling of ice and snow washing over the Grimm like a frozen tide. Like the aftermath of a true blizzard, stillness and silence fell over the dungeon.

Finally satisfied, the Winter Maiden stepped onto the last of the staircase that wasn’t covered by ice and snow. She turned to face Team RAYNBOW, ready and willing to aid them in their mission. Everyone stared in awe, as realization filled their minds. Penny was here. She was here and she had defeated the Apathy as easily as Ruby had.

And with decidedly less energy. It was simply incredible. But it didn’t take long for a heavy blanket of guilt to fill the room. Why had they told Penny to stay behind? Why didn’t they just allow her to join them in the first place? Their chances of victory had increased tenfold now with her by their sides and they had told her to stay behind.

As they looked at her, with awe and guilt, they understood this was Penny’s fight just as much as it was theirs. She had belonged with them since the beginning.


	6. Now We Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the depths of Evernight, who will be found?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heyo everyone!! this is ellie, and im very proud to say that this chapter is FINALLY done!!!! it is a DOOZY, thats for sure. we spent a lot of on this, planning it out and making it just right so we both really, REALLY hope that you enjoy :D

“They’re here.”

Salem sat tall in her twisted throne in the West Wing hall of Evernight, tapping the edge of the table with her pale fingers and staring out at the closed doors. She was expecting the last of her followers to arrive any moment. There was no doubt that Salem had both heard and at least sensed the disturbances in the lower halls of her castle. She knew they were coming for their dear friend. She smirked at that notion, the fact that those children, those desperate souls, would risk life and limb to save their one friend, their _chosen one_ , from her clutches. 

They were smart not to try and scale the castle walls and enter by the front gate, she would have simply allowed her creatures and gravity to finish them off one by one. She wasn’t sure just how they managed to overcome the Apathy guards in the lower dungeons, but then it became clear to her. That ancient, deep, familiar feeling came over her, a relic from her own long-distant time; magic. This was not the weakened and diminished magic of Ozma. One of the Maidens was in Evernight and now Ruby’s companions had more of a fighting chance. No matter. They were still surrounded a thousand to one, at the very least. Then, there was the disturbance in the East Wing, which her minions were quick to investigate; the android Winter Maiden made her way through her Grimm guards. She smirked again as she wondered just how Cinder would react to this news.

The door slammed wide open, and Cinder came bursting through, the claws on both of her Grimm arms scratching the blackened wood of the door. She was livid, her breath ragged and her features withdrawn. Emerald came straggling behind her, out of breath and looking back over her shoulder as though expecting some kind of attack.

“What are you _doing? They’re-_ ”

“I know. Take your seat.”

Salem’s voice, though calm and quiet, was loud and clear over Cinder’s angry hollering. She gestured to the two seats on either side of her council table. The chairs that used to house Hazel Rainart, Tyrian Callows, Arthur Watts and especially Mercury Black were empty; the last of which made Emerald freeze up with grief and stare at the seat. Memories of her old companion came rushing to the surface, and she realised how much she missed his biting sarcasm, his boastful attitude and complete confidence in himself despite his past. She reached out and touched the top of the chair, as though her memory of him would reach out to him in some way.

She felt a hard nudge on her shoulder causing her to gasp, she quickly turned and saw Cinder glaring down at her.

“Sit,” she snarled with gritted teeth.

Emerald gingerly took her seat on Salem’s left, opposite Cinder. The Queen of the Lands of Darkness sat silently for a minute, letting her two remaining followers sit uncomfortably in the quiet. Cinder merely glared, and only cast her furious eyes down when her mistress glanced in her direction, while Emerald blinked and glanced around, hoping for some kind of sudden noise to distract her both of her _mistresses_ from the business at hand.

“I want to assure both of you that these little dissidents, these _heroes_ will not come out of this alive, and so you have no reason to fear,” assured Salem, in her soothingly calm voice.

Cinder bit back a scoff, “Fear is not what’s at play here, I could destroy these children before they even knew what was happening. I am more concerned about what they may find while they’re here.” 

“Indeed, we don’t want them spoiling our little surprise so soon,” smirked Salem, glancing to Emerald on her left, “Now do we, dear?”

Emerald couldn’t even choke out a response, the knowledge of everything they’d done to get to this moment was nearly suffocating. All she could do was shake her head no, her eyes never leaving the table top. 

“What do we do if they find it?” Cinder asked Salem, wringing her wrists together angrily. 

“ _When_ they do, I want them to realize the depth of their failure and lose all hope. Our little… surprise will come upon them like ice upon the flowers, we will watch them wither in despair, then splinter them apart and destroy them one by one.”

“What I don’t understand is why don’t we just _kill_ Ruby Rose while we still can? She still has her eyes, why haven’t you let me _tear_ them from her face?!” snarled Cinder.

“If we mutilate or make a martyr out of her they will only fight to the death. A sheer waste of time. While she’s alive we have something to lure them in and strike them down while they’re still weak. And she won’t be able to use her eyes when she sees what I have for them.”

Cinder grinned at Salem, dark and ugly, “I see. Clearly, this is the best way to have our vengeance.”

“What about Ozpin?”

Salem and Cinder slowly turned to stare at Emerald, who went pale and a look of regret came over her for speaking out. Their scowls didn’t falter, and Cinder looked all the more disgusted at her, this _peon_ , interrupting her train of thought.

“I will know him when I see him, my dear. And so I must ask you, Cinder, not to destroy him so recklessly as you did last time. Only a long, slow death in my keeping will suffice,” said Salem, now back to her sick delight at the prospect of such a reunion.

Cinder bristled at the mild chastisement of her mistress. Though it was not _so_ long ago since that night at Beacon, she hated to admit that the farm boy was a far more persistent nuisance than the all-powerful headmaster of Beacon. While killing the boy now would have given her immense pleasure, she knew better than to go against Salem’s authority this time. If nothing else, she could pay him a few visits... 

“I suspect it will be quite the battle, so I will send you our special reinforcements to help finish the job. I’m sure you would want to savour the moment,” Salem gestured to the door and nodded at Cinder and Emerald to get up. The mere mention of Salem’s _surprise_ being there to distract from her hour of glory immediately set Cinder off.

“I won’t need any-” began Cinder angrily.

“I should let you know that the Winter Maiden is with them now. She was what caused the breach in the East Wing less than an hour ago.”

Cinder’s eyes widened and then narrowed again, silently glaring at Salem. Emerald shrunk back even more, she knew that with a Maiden on their side it was inevitable that Cinder would start to lose sight of their objective. Chaos always ensued when that happened.

“I see... and when were you going to mention this?” snapped Cinder.

“At my own discretion,” replied Salem curtly as she rose, “and as my final word of warning not to destroy yourself chasing after what you desire.”

But Salem knew that the odds of Cinder relenting _now_ , after being put on the backfoot by the daring and persistence of Ruby Rose and her friends, were slim.

~*~

Stealth was the only thing shielding Team RAYNBOW and Penny from being outed and eliminated before they could finish their mission. They immediately ran from the top of the flight of stairs and had found a secluded empty hall to retreat into with no Grimm or any of the sickly green stuff found at the base of the dungeon. Yang had barred the door and leaned heavily against it as everyone caught their breath and allowed their auras to slowly recharge. Exhausted and winded by their battle with the Apathy, the teens were charged with a renewed sense of hope upon having Penny with them. Penny also seemed fairly happy to be with them too, tending to each of them and making sure they were making a full recovery. 

“I am so pleased to see you, my friends!” she cheered, helping Weiss up off the ground. 

Weiss smiled tiredly at Penny, “We’re really happy to have you here too, Penny.”

Oscar looked horror stricken as he slowly started to get up, “We… we almost…”

“We didn’t,” Jaune cut him off, helping the youngest to his feet, “That won’t ever happen. Not like that.” 

All he got was a shaky nod in return, but it would have to be enough for now.

“Penny…” Yang started, looking understandably conflicted. 

“We never should have left you behind,” Ren said mournfully, Nora’s hand gripped tight in his as she helped him get up. 

“I cannot say I am happy with that,” Penny admitted, frowning a little, “When I was reactivated after my brief incapacitation, I was informed that all of you had left for the Lands of Darkness without me _and_ without backup. And as seen not long ago with the Apathy, you could have died. I do not see that as acceptable behaviour for friends.”

“You’re right,” Jaune told her, walking up to her and resting a hand on her shoulder, “It was a reckless decision, but we couldn’t risk you getting hurt again. I don’t know what we would’ve told Ruby if… if anything had _happened_ to you…”

She ambushed him in a strong and tight hug, “Nothing will happen to me. As you said, ‘not like that.’ And I believe this will be it, the moment of victory!”

“I really, really wish I had your optimism Penny,” said Jaune as he found himself returning the hug, relaxing into the comfort of his old friend. The realization of how much Penny mattered to them all hitting him like a truck. He regretted his decision, but that was in the past. He had to trust her. He had to. 

“I am still angry, though, but I think that for now we should focus on rescuing Ruby,” stated Penny as she pulled back and held his shoulders so that he could take in her full intensity.

“Agreed,” Blake murmured, adjusting her grip on Gambol Shroud, “She needs us right now, everything else can wait.” 

“That would be great,” Weiss started, frustration evident in how she held herself and her weapon, “Except that we have no idea where she is, and might even be dead before we find her.”

“But I might!” Penny grinned, a certain eagerness to her voice. 

She received puzzled looks from the whole group, but Oscar was actually the one to speak up this time. 

“What do you mean? What can you do?”

Penny grabbed his hand to look him reassuringly in the eyes, “I can scan the castle to find Ruby, _and_ I can learn the location of our enemies to avoid them!” 

“I don’t think subtlety is in the cards anymore,” said Weiss ruefully, “We _will_ have to fight them.”

“And what’s the fun in that, anyways?” Nora smiled, though it was tired and uncertain. She pounded the end of Magnhild into the palm of her hand as if to show off readiness and energy, but she was missing her usual fire. 

“Well, I sure as hell didn’t come here to leave them a strongly worded letter,” growled Yang, glaring across the hall, “Let’s move it.”

Without wasting another minute, Team RAYNBOW and Penny resumed their search into the deepest recesses of Evernight. Running at full speed down the dark corridors with Penny leading the way and clearing their path of any small groups of Grimm on patrol. She would stop and turn to the crystalline walls of the castle to scan the structure for any hidden doorways or staircases. She went about her task silently, a steely mask of determination that stood well apart from her usually cheerful demeanor.

“Holy shit… _guys look at this!!_ ” cried Yang from the back of the group.

They stopped and turned, Yang stood outside a black wooden door discreetly tucked away between two protruding crystals. She opened it wide and carefully pulled out the familiar black and red scythe belonging to her sister. Contained within were more bullets, dust capsules and other munitions.

“It’s Crescent Rose…” murmured Weiss, her eyes glistening as she beheld her partner’s legendary scythe and held it with gentle reverence, “One of us should deliver it to her when we find her again.”

Yang nodded solemnly. Just as Weiss offered Crescent Rose to her partner’s sister with a sincere look, Yang placed her hand up and gently pushed the scythe back into Weiss’s keeping.

Ren sighed, heavy and conflicted and doubtful, causing Nora to turn to him with a frown.

“Hey now, don’t you _dare_ start thinking like that!” she berated him.

“We just… We just don’t _know,”_ he argued. 

“ _Of course_ we do! I’ll not hear differently!” yelled Weiss angrily before stopping herself and sighing in frustration, this was _no_ time to turn on companions over petty disagreements, “We _cannot_ falter now.”

“Renny,” began Nora gently, holding her lover’s hand, “We _will_ find Ruby, we _will_ destroy this pale bitch, and we _will_ blow this joint and go home!”

He cupped a hand over her cheek, soft and meaningful, full of an emotion that seemed to escape him through words, “Alright, Nora. We _will_.”

“Still, what is this?” Oscar said warily. 

“It looks like some kind of armory,” said Blake as she stepped inside and started to gather what she could find, immediately catching quizzical and dumbfounded reactions from her team, “If we’re going to fight Salem, and... gods know what else, I’d rather _not_ run out of ammo halfway through.”

“Solid logic,” Jaune shrugged and began to do the same, Nora quickly following suit. Soon, everyone had fully reloaded in anticipation for their final stand.

Penny suddenly looked thoughtful and concentrated, but not really at anything in particular. Her face lit up in seconds, though, like she’d been struck by lightning. 

“Penny?” Yang asked worriedly, lightly touching the other girl’s shoulder.

“I have a new life reading on my long range scanner,” exclaimed Penny, “Yes, it is definitely Ruby!”

“You mean she’s alive!” yelled Yang, now fully energized to leap into action.

“Precisely!” but Penny frowned once again, “She’s down this staircase, I believe it leads into another dungeon. We need to hurry, our friend needs us!”

Jaune nodded vigorously, “Yeah, there’s no telling how much time we have left. Let’s finish up here and get back out there.”

Once everyone had loaded up, emptying the whole room in the process, the team ran down the staircase. As they descended, the luminescent violet glow of the castle walls receded into darkness, illuminated with Penny’s eyes. They continued to descend and soon there was a distant orange glow. The hot orange light increased as they went further down. Everyone felt incredibly uneasy, and the determination shared among everyone started to decline. They reached another locked door, with the orange light burning through the gaps.

“Not to worry, this obstacle will be removed,” said Penny as her eyes locked onto the iron hinges. Within seconds the concentrated heat of her laser vision melted the metal.

“Great, my turn,” added Yang, pulling her metal arm back as Penny stepped back-

_CRASH!_

It went flying off the frame with a round impact crater in its center cutting right through the wood. The dislodged door crashed along a narrow staircase and fractured further on repeated impact.

The heat coming from inside hit them like a solid wall, causing several to recoil back. Despite the persistent burning air around her. 

Yang went pale at what she saw inside. 

The chamber was round and had a high arching roof, with ignited spiked torches from the ground to a few feet under the roof, ornaments of spiked glass and iron stood around a massive pyre. Tubes, pipes and funnels snaked up the walls and around them. The smell was overwhelming, all smoke and burning oil, barely an iota of fresh air. The sound of the crackling, roaring flames all around them was deafening, it was like being inside a furnace.

In the chaos of it all, a tired, hopeless voice cried out faintly over everything happening around them. 

“Guys…?”

Yang saw _red._ Every muscle in her body was pulled taught. The anger washed over her in a way it never had before. 

Directly above the fire hung an oversized birdcage. Inside was a pale girl, her black hair with red highlights tattered and stringy, her combat clothing frayed and torn, completely covered in ash. She was chained to the cage, completely stuck, completely helpless to save herself. She seemed so far away yet so unbearably _close_ at the same time. 

A vicious scream tore itself from Yang’s throat. 

_“RUBY!”_

“Oh my Gods…” Blake whispered in horror, “Who _did_ this to her?!” 

“Let me see, torches lining every wall, a distinct hellfire, black glass and iron aesthetic, and an enormous pyre at its center? This has Cinder all over it,” said Weiss tensely as she took it all in.

“I'LL KILL HER!” Yang screamed, throat raw and scratchy and painful but she didn’t _care_ because that was her _baby sister_ up there. In chains, in _pain._

Jaune took a defensive stance beside her, Nora, Ren, and Oscar falling in behind him.

“Go get your sister, Yang, we’ve got your back,” he promised her, that sturdy, unmoving tone in his voice doing wonders to calm her anger. 

Yang took a deep breath, she had to reel it in, if she tried doing this recklessly then they _would_ lose. There was no doubt about it. The Huntress closed her eyes and took a deep breath, the taste of the smoke nearly making her gag, but despite the smells and sounds surrounding her, she found it in herself to channel her anger into something that could be useful. 

“Hey Weiss?”

“Yes, Yang?”

“I need your glyphs to get me up there.”

Blake stared at Yang, wide-eyed and terrified, “What will you do once you get there? How are you going to be able to open that cage?” 

“Penny,” Yang said simply, as if that was truly a half decent answer. 

“ _What?”_ Blake asked, but it was too late, Yang had launched herself into the air.

Unsheathing Myrtenaster and gesturing the required signs, Weiss was quick to create a path for her teammate, her _sister,_ to follow. The rush of air as she jumped and leaped through smoke and the heat, so close to fire that she could have gotten singed, sparked an adrenaline rush within Yang. As she neared the cage, Penny levitated behind her, her blades unsheathed and slicing at the black iron lock of the cage. But not a dent was made on the metal.

Now mere feet away as Weiss’s last glyph reached its destination. Yang could finally see Ruby perfectly clear. Her baby sister, blind folded by what looked to be a sheet of metal, chained down to the hot, mesh floor of the cage, tear tracks through the ash on her cheeks. Something in Yang hardened. Something in Yang turned to ice. The red, hot anger that was there before became replaced by icy cold resolve. She was going to murder Cinder. She was going to _gut_ Cinder. _Alive_. It would be _slow_. It would be _painful._ It would be _worth it._

She shoved those feelings aside for the moment though, the knowledge that what was most important was saving Ruby was the forefront of her thoughts now. She gripped the side of the cage, and held Ember Celica to the lock and shot at it a couple of times in the hopes of helping Penny along.

But still the lock persisted. This would be a stubborn, nasty piece of work. Furthermore, the sight of Ruby barely able to move was enough for Penny to force back the instinct to cry, despite her obvious lack of tear ducts. The Maiden gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as her sorrow turned into righteous anger.

Yang gripped the bars of the cage door, and jerked back as the heat seared through her left hand with shock. And Ruby had been exposed to _this_ for gods know how long!

Enough was enough. 

Aiming her left gauntlet directly for the lockhole, she fired once more. The round struck the inside of the lock causing smoke to flow upwards from within. With her metal hand unfeeling of the heat, she pulled the door wide open, so hard it came off its upper hinge and hung limply off the lower one.

“Yang…?” Ruby cried out, hoarse and scared and confused.

The Huntress grabbed the sides of the cage with both hands and used her upper body strength to swing herself in through the door. She gasped at the way the hot metal felt against her bare knees, and could only _imagine_ the kind of pain Ruby must be in. 

“It’s okay, Ruby,” Yang said firmly, rushing forward and enveloping her sister in a tight, strong hug, “It’s me. I’m here.”

“ _Yang_ ,” Ruby gasped out, rattling the chains that kept her hands trapped in an attempt to return the hug. 

“I’ve got you, Ruby, _I’ve got you_ -” Yang sobbed, holding her sister closer, _tighter._

“Yang,” Penny said from the other side of the cage, worried and tense, “We have to hurry!”

“Right, right,” the Huntress muttered, she gripped the chain connected to Ruby’s left hand in her prosthetic, then grabbed one of Penny’s blades out of the air and hacked at the chain until it broke loose. She repeated this method, working as fast and hard as she could, wincing as she saw the cuffs of the chains were practically melted against Ruby’s skin, and realized it was likely the same for the blindfold. She shook the thoughts out of her head, and focused on getting the chains broken just enough so that Ruby could be set free. 

Yang nearly sobbed with relief when the last one finally broke, the knowledge they were just one step closer to getting out of this place was a type of comfort she never knew she needed. 

“Okay, Penny,” the fiery blonde said hesitantly, “We’re ready.” She gathered Ruby into her arms and carried her sister back over to the door, where Penny was now waiting with her arms held out.

“Be careful,” Yang whispered to the Maiden as she helped adjust Ruby in Penny’s arms. 

“You’ve got it!” Penny smiled, but it didn’t have quite the same energy that Yang was used to with the other girl.

“Penny,” Ruby whispered happily, even though she couldn’t see her old friend, she still threw her arms around Penny’s neck, the excess chains dangling and clanking everywhere uncomfortably.

“I am so happy to have you back, Ruby,” Penny said reassuringly, holding Ruby close in her arms.

Ruby melted at that, her heart beating wildly in her chest knowing that despite everything Cinder had said her friends _had_ come for her, “Me too.” 

“Down we go!” Penny smiled brightly, leaping off the edge of the cage with a tight grip on Ruby, being as gentle as possible while still avoiding as much of the smoke and flames as she could. 

When they landed, Ruby was instantly swarmed by the others, tears shed and relief shared, but Jaune pushed through to the front, immediately activating his semblance to regrow her aura.

“Don’t crowd her,” Jaune ordered, throwing back an arm to keep everybody away, “We need to get the mask off, these cuffs too.” 

Weiss frowned, “I can try freezing the metal to break it.”

“It would become cold enough to hurt her then,” Penny pointed out. 

“What if we warm it up even more?” Oscar asked timidly, “Maybe it’ll be soft enough to just… peel away?”

“That… might actually work,” Jaune said excitedly, “Okay, there appears to be some sort of metal clamp on the back of her head, but it looks like it was bolted shut!”

“If I can focus my vision down to pinpoint precision and increase the intensity of my heat vision, I can melt the mask and cuffs off _without_ hurting Ruby,” said Penny with rising excitement.

“Just… just get them off,” pleaded Ruby.

Penny nodded, a look of cold anger came over her as her eyes began to focus. She positioned herself directly in front of Ruby and trained her eyes towards the dense, heavy cuffs around her hands. A faint whirring emanated from _inside_ of her, rising energy being channeled into her eyes’ weapons function. The green light beams came forth, much smaller than usual and made a trail through the thick metal. 

She brought the beam down and them up again, cutting even deeper through the metal. One cuff burst apart as the metal collapsed. Ruby gasped as her left hand felt the free air again. Penny trained her eyes on the second cuff and a few tense seconds later it had fallen from Ruby’s right hand. Penny quickly positioned herself behind Ruby and stared directly at the bolt and focused her vision once again. The applied heat to the bolt took longer than the cuffs, but in under a minute the metal burst apart. 

The mask fell onto the ground with a heavy _clang_ and Ruby was finally _free_. 

She blinked rapidly as her vision started to come into focus, everything she saw was dark and blurry and she was stricken by fear that this had somehow done permanent damage. But in just a few moments everything slowly started to become clear, the light of the nearby flames were nearly painful, yet it was illuminating familiar faces she had started to doubt she’d ever see again. Weiss was there, staring at her with that kind and concerned expression that had started to become more and more common since Beacon. Then, of course, there was Jaune, one of her oldest and dearest friends, just holding her hand, keeping her close as if anything could go wrong at any given moment. 

Ruby tipped her head up to see Penny, and it was like that day in Atlas, learning Penny was alive all over again, that shock and relief and fear just calmed by the Maiden’s signature smile. It was all too much, it all felt like too much, even something as simple as taking in the hot, angry colour of the chamber was close to overload for her, but still Weiss gently held her close, caressing her hair and whispering reassurances to her.

“We brought an old friend for you,” murmured Weiss, pulling out the closed-up Crescent Rose and gently presented it to Ruby. 

The two grinned at each other as Ruby gingerly took her beloved weapon in her hand and started to come about as this tangible extension of her soul. A mixture of longing, sadness and relief flickered in her eyes as she held it.

As Jaune concentrated with every ounce of his being into fueling his semblance, Ruby began to feel her strength return, and in time the burn marks began to heal over. Amidst the glow of affection from her friends, her family, Ruby began to smile again looking up at their tearful yet warm and welcoming faces. Her eyes, which had been reddened and dull after days of torture started to glimmer again.

Yang, on the other hand, was still in the cage. Dangling high above them, directly over the flames. Blake watched her girlfriend, feeling completely helpless as she stood there, simply waiting for Yang to get down.

Then, Yang _lept_ from the cage. 

“ _YANG!”_ Blake screamed from where she was stuck, Ruby and Weiss echoing her.

Jaune skidded forward, though, and held his shield high above his head at an angle, trying to act as a platform for his friend to bounce off of and break her fall.

“Penny!” he shouted at the Maiden, “I ne-”

“On it!” The girl was already two steps ahead of him apparently, she quickly but gently passed Ruby onto Weiss, and flung herself into the air, trying to intercept Yang’s fall so that Jaune could act as a necessary Plan B instead. 

Penny grunted as she caught Yang, only faltering slightly, and frowned disapprovingly at the antics of her maniac of a friend, “I do not understand why you would do that!” 

Yang just grinned and shrugged, “I knew you would catch me.”

Penny frowned, “You should never make those kinds of assumptions! You could have been really hurt!” She set Yang back down on the ground next to Blake before landing herself. 

Yang pressed a quick kiss to Blake’s cheek, then immediately turned to Ruby’s side, petting her hand through Ruby’s hair and whispering sweet nothings to her little sister. While Jaune continued to focus his semblance into recharging Ruby’s aura, he remained conscious of how much Weiss and Blake just wanted to wrap their arms around the two sisters and could not blame them one bit.

“We did it,” Oscar whispered, stance rigid and Long Memory still drawn, the disbelief in his voice bordered on denial. How could they have possibly done this? The odds were utterly stacked against them. 

Ren set a soothing hand on Oscar’s shoulder, and Nora hugged his other arm, their eyes never breaking away from the precious moment before them, “We did.”

The sound of slow, leisurely clapping broke the calm and collected air of the group. 

All heads turned, and gasps broke out upon the group as their past came back to haunt them. Weiss and Yang hoisted Ruby onto her feet, but she was still unsteady and in no condition to face what now surrounded them. Long shadows were cast by the roaring pyre and familiar, and horrible silhouettes framed against the fire. Tyrian’s clapping paired with this frightening visage of the living dead sent a shockwave of fear through the whole group.

A dark and familiar voice penetrated over the sound of the crackling flames.

“Oh, Blake, still following the strong around like the pathetic stray you are?”

Blake looked up and around and started to run around the chamber, trying frantically to find it. There he stood, Adam Taurus clad in his black garb and unsheathing his sword, Wilt, gleaming blood-red. With a cruel grin and his White Fang mask, he looked as fearsome as he was smug and contemptful.

“What… _What?_ No you’re… You’re _dead!_ I killed you! _I killed you!”_ Blake screamed out, voice panicked and raw. She was stuck stone still, completely unable to move herself as she just watched him in horror as he slowly crept towards her. Everything in her _screamed_ to run as fast and as far as she could from this place but she just _couldn’t move._

“Did you really think it would be _this_ easy?” scoffed Taurus.

“ _No! Leave us alone! JUST LEAVE US ALONE!_ ” Yang screeched as she charged, gauntlets raised to put a missile in his face.

And then Taurus was just gone. Both of them strained their eyes all over the chamber to find him. His voice echoed above the flames, standing imperiously above the team from a high platform that should have been impossible to reach, smirking callously.

“You can’t destroy me, Xiao-Long,” he drawled, “As long as the memory of me lasts in your skulls, I shall never die. And here, I am _your master_.”

“In the domain of the Goddess, we who follow her are _all_ immortal here, and you are mere moths to the flame!” cackled Tyrian, shrill and inane from high above. Hunched over like a gargoyle and pale as bone, the grinning scorpion faunus giggled maniacally.

“ _Tyrian_ ,” snarled Nora, grasping Magnhild. Ren and Oscar took defensive positions beside her, Ren looking decidedly angry. Memories of when the pair of them alongside Qrow and Clover Ebi finally put that down that monster before he could murder more unarmed civilians. That Nora did not mutilate his bloodied corpse with Magnhild further took _considerable_ restraint on her part.

“But that’s _impossible_ ,” cried Weiss, holding Myrtenaster out, “You two are dead!”

“Who _says_ we have to be _alive_ in order to screw with you?”

A third voice, arrogant and mocking, came from behind Team RRAYNBOW. Mercury Black stood, leaning against a wall with a smug smile. Clad in gray and black leather and with slick, greasy silver hair, the familiar metal clinking of his legs as he swaggered around them. Ruby’s eyes widened in shock as that familiar foe sauntered into view. She knew he was dead, she saw Yang put him down after a drawn-out battle that almost claimed her sister’s life. Despite the horror of these old enemies, Ruby could only stare back in her weakened state, clutching Crescent Rose to her chest while Weiss held tight onto her with Myrtenaster pointing towards the illusions.

“Come on out and fight!” yelled Jaune to the open air, sword drawn and shield raised, “Is this really the best you’ve got?! Ghosts of dead monsters like you?”

The illusions seemed to flicker for a fraction of a second, and then they were back in full force, each sporting a hateful sneer and started to advance.

“Don’t panic, guys,” Jaune urged his teammates, “These are just illusions, they can’t hurt us.”

“You’re right. But this will,” Taurus chuckled darkly.

Suddenly, enormous plumes of flame rapidly burst from one of the overhanging funnels, followed by another, and another, until the flames danced all around them. In their immediate panic, Team RRAYNBOW scattered; with the incapacitated Ruby and her team on one side of the hall with Taurus and Mercury closing in, and JNOR cut off by Tyrian and more walls of fire on the other. Fear started to rise in each of them, and they knew their auras would not be able to take a consistent battering of spouts of flame.

Penny flew into the air once again, detecting the origins of the flame bursts and bobbing and swerving left and right to avoid them. These flames, though channeled through the pipes like air through an organ, were not naturally generated. She sensed a cruel and hateful presence, coupled with familiar but heavily distorted magic. She could sense that Cinder was near…

Team JNOR bunched together as Tyrian viciously swished his tail in their faces. Jaune, Ren and Nora stood firm with their weapons raised. Oscar glanced up and froze in fear. Him and his team were positioned directly under a funnel, and it was getting hotter.

“ _Hold onto me!_ ” he yelled, dragging his three teammates into a tight huddle as he channeled all of his will into the shield sphere spell and extended it around his team just as a blast of orange flames engulfed them.

An anguished cry was muffled by the surrounding flames and electrical humming of the sphere. As soon as the flame stopped, the sphere came down around them and they ran to another part of the chamber, desperate to get closer to Ruby.

“Are you guys alright?” he asked, checking each of them over.

“Yeah, thanks to you, buddy,” Jaune smiled, gently patting Oscar’s shoulder.

The illusion of Tyrian cackled and bolted toward Team JNOR, slashing with his blades and his stinger. Ren flinched back and charged again, roaring with rage, but the scorpion faunus leaped and danced around him. Nora charged in pursuit alongside her lover. Jaune called out for his teammates to stand their ground, but it was too late as they had already charged out. He glanced towards Team RWBY being mobbed by the illusions of Taurus and Mercury, and could see very plainly that Ruby was _not_ ready for this battle.

Meanwhile, Penny soared above the illusions and systematically aimed highly concentrated blasts of snow and ice at the pipes, contorting them out of shape and rendering them useless for spouting flames.

“Oscar, help me get to Ruby!” shouted Jaune, Oscar nodded quickly and ran alongside his partner. He cried out in fright as a massive fist came hurtling to him from his left, blindsiding him and causing him to jump back in fright.

“You should have chosen death at Haven Academy, Ozpin,” growled a deep, guttural voice.

Oscar flinched and looked to the source of the voice; the towering wall of muscle and torn garments that was Hazel Rainart, glowering darkly above him and snarling. Jaune stopped and looked back, eyes wide in terror at the sight of the hulking berserker, and spun back towards a debilitated Ruby. 

“Go! She needs you!” yelled Oscar before turning back to face the illusion of Hazel.

Spinning back towards a debilitated Ruby and gritting his teeth in frustration, Jaune bolted toward Ruby to resume his task of rejuvenating her, trusting in Oscar's abilities.

“How can you _be_ here?! You were taken prisoner in Atlas!” Oscar shouted.

_“That’s because it’s not Hazel, this is clearly an illusion like the others,”_ declared the voice of Ozpin as suddenly and unexpectedly as the Hazel illusion had appeared. 

The apparition roared in rage and hurled blow after blow upon Oscar, a perfect emulation of the dust-infused berserker. Oscar jumped and parkoured around the chamber, avoiding it as best he could, but moving further and further away from his teammates.

“Oh, you _sure_ chose a good time to voice your opinion by stating the obvious!” snapped Oscar, indignation rising in him at the extreme folly of this reappearance as he swiftly backed away from the illusion of his rage-filled revenant, “Are you going to take over me?”

_“If I have to, I will,”_ asserted Ozpin, _“Just keep running, don’t let fear overtake you, and watch out for the fires.”_

Accepting the wisdom of the wizard’s warnings, Oscar continued to lead Hazel on his own trail. The last thing his teammates needed was another threatening illusion to menace them when they already had three to deal with. Taking deep breaths as he ran, he strained to exert control over his. Running a wide arc around the central pyre and using Long Memory as an extension of his arm to maneuver around, Oscar lured the Hazel illusion to the far side of the chamber. 

He turned and faced the illusion of Hazel backed against the pyre, holding his cane in a defensive position. Both stood stock still for a few seconds, and then the illusion of Hazel vanished. Oscar gasped and stared. _What was happening?_ The next thing he felt was a short, sharp burst of pain on the back of his head.

~*~

Jaune knelt besides Ruby to keep applying his semblance, and smiled as the scars gradually started to heal and her face was more filled with colour. Around them, the fighters of both their teams formed a circle around the visages of Taurus, Mercury and Tyrian. They had gathered against a broken series of pipes, away from the remaining flamethrowers. Now fired up and resolute, all the illusions could do was posture and glare back. Penny herself was still flying around and mangling the pipes and funnels with her barrages of ice and snow, and additional strikes from her blades, still the relentless heat from the pyre caused them to quickly melt into puddles. Still they had managed to avoid the worst of the barrage, and the exit was in sight.

But where was Oscar?

“So the brave protectors of Remnant finally reach their beloved champion. How ever shall I prevent this daring rescue?” drawled the sultry, ever-mocking voice of Cinder Fall.

There she stood atop a black glass platform, glowering over them. She was garbed in a black glass cuirass with red leather straps, scale bracers made to fit her clawed Grimm arms, leg greaves and shoulder pads. A flaming scimitar in hand, and a ball of fire in the other surrounded by swirling fall winds. Jaune’s stomach boiled, there was something very deliberate about her attire. She was making a mockery of… of _her._ The anger that flowed through his veins upon seeing this was backed up by everything else that had happened thus far. Jaune wanted his revenge.

And then, Jaune saw it. On another glass platform stood Emerald, no special arms or armour, just her twin sickles around an unconscious Oscar’s neck and glass blades pinning him down through his green coat. Compared to everyone else, she truthfully looked indecisive and fragile. Yet on some level that didn’t really matter at all to Jaune. No, what mattered was that they had his teammate, his partner, his _friend_ in captivity. The knight was rigid with anger, with _fury._

“ _Oscar!”_ Nora yelled, the pain and fear in her voice absolutely heartbreaking. 

“Let him go!” Ren demanded, harsh and brutally resolute.

“ _You..._ ” Ruby’s voice came out as a guttural cross between a whisper and a growl, steeped in anger as she stepped towards Cinder. Finding her strength and grasping Crescent Rose in hand, she stepped to the front of the group.

“I’ll cut straight to the point, you are all no match for me. Surrender now and you can reunite with your little barn _prince_ ,” a sick smile crossed over her face, as if daring them to disobey, “Refuse, and you will all die here, and I will take him to Salem.”

“No more bargains! You’re outnumbered, Miss Fall,” declared Penny as she levitated to glare at eye level with Cinder, “And for your crimes against Remnant, I have been authorized to eliminate you on sight. No mercy.”

“Oh please, I am merciful compared to what Salem has in store for your friends, tin girl,” she placed her Grimm hand over her chest, feigning distress, before smirking at Team JNR, “As I was merciful to your _hero_.”

“ _Shut up!_ ” Jaune roared, _“You’re next, Cinder!!!”_ The grief threatened to boil to the surface amidst his rage. His voice was starting to crack almost as much as Yang’s. Ren and Nora even had to grab him to hold him back.

“You... you shouldn’t have come here. You should have all stayed away...” Emerald weakly called out to them.

“And _YOU_ should have chosen better than a murdering psychopath to go Stockholm Syndrome on!” bellowed Yang, striding forward with Ember Cecilia primed.

Cinder leapt from her platform and stood over Emerald and Oscar.

“ _Silence_ , Emerald! Keep your weapons on that farm brat! Make sure he doesn’t wake up and turn into Ozpin!” barked Cinder, slapping her subordinate straight across the face, her Grimm claws leaving scratch marks across her face and drawing blood. Emerald bit her down on her tongue, and the impulse to cry or yelp in pain, and instead meekly nodded instead.

Satisfied, Cinder stepped _off_ the platform and for a brief moment it looked as though she walked on air, before the full rush of her Maiden Powers engulfed her.

Penny gulped in worry as Cinder stared right back at her. She knew what this meant... 

“You’re going to give me what I want, _tin girl_ , and when I’m through we’ll see how strong Salem really is. When the rest of you have been reduced to ashes, I will gather them up and present them to _her_. The look on her face will be priceless…” Cinder grinned evilly, a low cackle building up louder and louder until flames began to burst from her mouth, glow in her eyes and circle around her.

The Winter Maiden reared back, arm outstretched and poised and sent forth a bursting fog of ice to stop the flames in their tracks. Cinder roared and hurled a barrage of fireballs at Penny, forcing her to withdraw while still being airborne. The stray fireballs hit the ground around Team RRAYNBOW, causing them to scatter. Cinder glanced down, reared back and let loose another barrage of heated glass projectiles over RRAYNBOW, descending like a black hailstorm, and lighting crackled overhead as she passed above them.

“We need to get Oscar!” Ren yelled out as they all scrambled for cover. 

The pyre in the center of the chamber, after dying low in the wake of Penny’s Maiden powers, surged back to life again. Yang held her arms protectively over her head, channeling as much of her aura as possible to deflect the glass projectiles, while Jaune projected his aura bursts through Crocea Mors to further deflect the storm of glass. Unfortunately, he was heavily spent after reviving Ruby and it showed in how he held himself. 

Ruby looked down and then to everyone else’s feet, the ground was getting hotter underfoot.

“ _Everybody, jump!_ ” she cried.

Trusting instinct, the team leapt high into the air as the very ground beneath them erupted and blasts of fire and debris surged from beneath, knocking several of them off balance.

Several of the team opened fire on the Fall Maiden, but their foe was still projecting her aura outward, blocking incoming ammo.

Weiss, noting Cinder’s brief distraction in facing Penny, called out to Blake.

“Cover me!” she cried.

The faunus Huntress nodded and as Weiss sped to a good distance one of her shadow clones marked her every step, dancing between her and Cinder and drawing her fire projectiles. All the while, Blake kept her distracted with rounds fired from Gambol Shroud, leaping back and forth and out of Cinder’s reach. Now at a safer distance, Weiss began the summoning of her Lancer, in hopes of lending Penny aerial support, or saving Oscar. Noticing the Schnee heir’s attempt at a covert assault, Cinder aimed her Grimm arm to send forth a scorching blast of fire. Only, Ruby noticed this too.

Yelling so harshly that her strained voice cracked even further, the silver-eyed warrior transformed into a swirling cloud of rose petals, the first time she had attempted use of her semblance in a long time, and transforming back to her human form with Crescent Rose brandished high and arching down upon Cinder.

The false Maiden saw what her foe was attempting, and met her head on. She stretched her Grimm arm to grab Ruby’s neck and swung her black glass scimitar in a wide arc to slice her head clean off. Ruby saw the oncoming attack and countered with Crescent Rose, transformed into rose petals a second time, then reformed again and wrapped her arms around Cinder’s arms to hold her back, driving her knee into her back causing her to screech in pain, though still she remained levitated. 

Feeling heat rising underneath her, Ruby leapt up and swerved down again, Crescent Rose switched to sniper rifle mode and opened fire on Cinder. Blocking her enemy’s rounds, but still visibly annoyed, Cinder reared her arm back and unleashed another blast of fire. Swerving around and arcing Crescent Rose down, Ruby brought down all her strength upon Cinder’s aura. And still it stood firm.

Down came Cinder, crashing upon the ground, yet still in perfect composure. She rose into the air again, hurling fire and glass projectiles at Ruby as she darted along the walls. She jumped, somersaulting over Cinder, and landed clean on the back of Weiss’s summoned Lancer, swinging Myrtenaster with willing abandon. They were joined in the air by Penny, having overheated her laser vision, and she flew in at top speed with her blade circling. Weiss positioned her Lancer directly above Cinder and dived towards her.

“Fall, Cinder!!” she yelled, arm outstretched and firing off rounds of frost dust at Cinder as she jetted through the air, pursued by Penny and evading her ice projectiles. Weiss swerved under and slashed at her, followed by another strike of Crescent Rose, and again the false Maiden showed no signs of weakening.

Cinder swerved around and dove between the two flyers, her glass scimitar bared. With great speed and precision, she sliced through Weiss’s Lancer causing the summon to instantly disintegrate and sending its riders falling, screaming in panic. Penny stopped in mid air and swooped down, racing fireballs from Cinder, to catch both of them. Her arms stretched out and reached for her friends, her vice grip clamping down on their hands, and veered a sharp left narrowly dodging the ensuing explosion. The shockwave knocked Penny off balance, and she screamed as she tumbled and skidded across the hard surface while Ruby and Weiss narrowly succeeded in landing on both feet. 

Gasping, Ruby ran over to an unconscious Penny and shook her shoulder roughly.

“Penny! Come on, get up!” urged Ruby.

“Ruby, behind you!” cried Weiss. She tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped in her tracks by a barrage of glass.

Cinder hovered over Ruby and Penny, and all around her the dirt and dust particles nascent to the chamber started to swirl around her and crystalize. She was creating her own fire dust. Cinder pulled her arms back ready to channel the dust into Ruby and Penny.

Suddenly a loud battle yell filled the whole chamber.

Charging like a bloodthirsty lion, Yang swung with Ember Cecilia primed and discharged her rounds into Cinder’s head, only for her freakishly strong aura to withstand it. Cinder sent the heated fire dust flying directly at Yang. Yang held her arms in a cross around her head and focused her aura as best she could, grunting from exertion. The dust storm kept her pinned, down and she began to scream as the heated particles burned at her combat outfit and her very skin. Ruby screamed and tried to jump up, if she could _just_ get her silver eyes to work, but Cinder had her pinned to the floor with her Grimm arm extended, covering her eyes with her pincer sharp claws, keeping her out of arm’s reach. Cinder squeezed her Grimm arm around Ruby’s face, and the girl screamed in pain as the claws sunk deeper.

“Just what I needed,” growled Yang.

She roared and charged again, a yellow streak burning like the sun careened into Cinder, a golden mass of swirling energy and raw power, eyes gleaming blood red.

_“YOU THINK YOU CAN HURT MY SISTER?!”_ shrieked Yang as she _hammered_ Cinder into the very stone of the chamber, ploughing deep inroads as she charged across the floors and up its walls before throwing the false Maiden onto the ground with an earth-shattering crash.

Cinder was now surrounded. Team RWBY had reunified and taken formation, and Team JNR stood alongside Penny, both teams slowly advanced around her. She could feel her aura, it was _lower_ now that she had taken a strong beating from Ruby, Penny and Yang.

Cinder quickly glanced up to Emerald, she was still holding the unconscious farm boy, and her face betrayed considerable worry and barely suppressed panic. _Weakling_ , thought Cinder as she rolled her eyes and snorted before turning to face her enemies.

“ _FOR BEACON!!_ ” cried Ruby, Crescent Rose swinging high.

They charged. Ruby transformed into a swirling cloud of rose petals once again and circled around Cinder and her incoming blasts of flame to transform and fire Crescent Rose in sniper mode, Weiss used her speed glyph to dart past their foe and slash with Myrtenaster, Blake ran up the walls and jumped upon her with katana-mode Gambol Shroud, and Yang reeling from the pain of the heated dust attack rammed her once again.

Cinder roared and spat fire, veins glowing orange and cracking across what remained of her human skin. She deflected attacks and returned them by blasting and projecting wherever she could, only for a target to retreat behind Jaune’s aura-augmented shield to briefly recuperate. Before she could concentrate her power on both targets, yet another foe was upon her. Briefly gaining a height advantage, she reached for the metal cage hanging over the pyre, superheated the metal until the chain snapped, broke the metal apart and with her heightened concentration hurled the metal fragments at each of Team RWBY, knocking them back and weakening their already strained auras. Projected into the air by Jaune’s aura blast, Nora brought down Magnhild aimed squarely for her head, Cinder somersaulted back and lunged her legs in a brutal kick to the Valkyrie’s head.

“You will pay for that,” snarled a voice from right behind her.

Ren, glaring at cinder, brought StormFlower in two rapid sweeps toward her artery and jugular. Thinking fast, Cinder grabbed both of Ren’s wrists with her opposing Grimm arms and glared back at Ren, her own eyes burning. She twisted his arms and Ren gave a pained cry as he sank to the floor. She glanced aside and saw Nora’s pale, horrified face contort into rage as she roared and attacked. Hoisting Ren with her arm, Cinder swiveled and threw Ren at full speed into the raging Nora. Nora raised Magnhild and froze, she saw Ren careening towards her and extended an arm to pull him down. Mere seconds too late as he collided with her sending both of them flat on the ground, reeling in pain and immediately tending to one another. Cinder cackled and hovered over them, scimitar facing forward.

“You’re all worthless without _her_ ,” she sneered.

“ _CINDER!!!_ ”

Jaune Arc stood alone. His voice, shrill with the strain of shouting over the din of battle and the rage of a special hatred held for far too long, and now for recent transgressions against his best friends. He dropped the shield. Corcea Mors was switched into greatsword mode, he would bring all of his strength to finishing this off. 

He charged and slashed with Corcea Mors in fast, vicious swings at Cinder, consistently aiming for her neck and face. This time, she was put on the backfoot, retreating, dodging and swerving to avoid the knight’s furious slashes, barely blocking them with her black glass scimitar. Fear coursed coldly through her veins. Actual fear, the like of which she had neither felt nor wanted to in years. The glass scimitar shattered. She propelled herself into the air, dodging Jaune’s rapid swing as JNR regrouped with Penny and RWBY formed up around her again. Fatigued kicked in and she began to lower down to the ground. She was surrounded. The fear ran through her veins, much faster this time, that feeling of _powerlessness_ that made her feel incredibly small.

Cinder screamed, raw and burning, and reached deep within herself for the abyssal levels of power that resided there. She cackled as a hot, searing forcefield burst out, pushing away her enemies with an invisible burst of heat as they went flying against the walls and were effectively knocked unconscious. But something else was forced through as well. The power and the darkness from inside overtook her body, a sick and twisted transformation overcame her. Her limbs were outstretched as she convulsed in mid-air, shaking violently as the grotesque black ink spread from her veins and absorbed every inch of her body, an ugly bestial transition taking place before their very eyes. 

She fell to the floor on her knees, gasping heavily for breath as she looked at her hands, now perfect matches of Grimm and human mix. Cinder’s eyes darted across the room, angry and desperate for her next kill. She rose on what should have been shaky legs, but with her new form they were solid and strong, showing no signs of weakness. She smiled as she found her new resolve; her new form was truly more powerful than any that had come before. And yet something felt strangely absent; her aura, as seemingly limitless as it was, must surely have been drained by the heat of battle...

Before her stood the knight, tired and clearly drained, but he was determined, and so was she. 

“Last one standing, and the first to die,” murmured Cinder, her formerly sultry voice now even lower and echoed through all around her, and she smirked as she circled around Jaune.

“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?” growled Jaune.

“Fine, settle for foolish denial,” shrugged Cinder, she grinned with malice and showing razor sharp teeth, “You know, I can still hear your beloved champion’s final gasps the night I put an arrow through her heart.”

“Bullshit you do!”

“Don’t believe me? I'll send you directly to her, and you can find out,” she drawled, forming a glass spear to throw at him.

Jaune grimaced as his resolve faltered for a moment, and then glanced a sign of movement out of the corner of his eye; Ruby was still conscious. Making sure to hide his emotion at this sight, he faced Cinder again.

“I’ll admit you almost had me there, but you got it all wrong from the get-go,” he said with renewed confidence.

Cinder lowered her spear and stared at him. He just wasn’t falling for her incisive words this time. She looked around at the prone forms of his fallen teammates, and crucially Ruby’s, and back at him.

“Oh, really? Enlighten me,” she laughed, holding her arms out.

“You love to act like this great and powerful warrior goddess who’s gonna rule the world, but you’re actually the most pathetic, cowardly loser I know.”

Cinder went stock still and stared silently at him. Then she scowled and snarled like a beast, her jaws clenched and words slow to break out.

“ _Shut. Up._ ”

“Oh, sure, growl like the bitch you are,” said Jaune as he swaggered around her, “The way you lash out at the world, like something went really bad for you in the first place, well guess what? You were _never_ the only one that’s ever happened to. And at least those people didn’t act like the world _owed_ them something.”

“STOP IT- _STOP IT!_ You don’t know a thing about me, or who I am, _boy!”_ screeched Cinder.

“Pyrrha must have had you figured out back then, she always had a way with people. Whatever destiny you think you’re owed, you will get exactly what you deserve. You are lower than dirt, Cinder, and you have been for the longest time.”

Another deep growl escaped Cinder’s throat, as she reared back to throw the glass spear. Waiting until the last second, Jaune stood his ground, swivelled on one foot, and with Corcea Mors cleaved the profane spear into a thousand black shards.

Cinder gasped, suddenly short of breath. Something struck her in the back and she screamed in pain, hunching over onto her knees. She _felt_ the round hit her. Her aura was gone. She looked behind her, and there stood Ruby Rose. Her face was deathly white, a mask of cold justice.

Soaring high then low again and landing directly in front of her, Ruby plunged Crescent Rose into Cinder Fall’s heart.

The false Maiden stared wide eyed at the black and red scythe rupturing through her heart, lungs, ribs and spine. The agony coursing through her choked any impulse to scream as blood flowed freely from her. She shook and writhed and coughed blood with strangled gargling noises until everything inside her stopped.


	7. The Shadows of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RRAYNBOW and the Winter Maiden, Penny, have triumphed against an old enemy, but at what cost? The resentment and negativity built up over such a long, bitter grudge suddenly gets put in the spotlight; doubts, anxieties and hatreds are laid bare. As the heroes move through Evernight Castle to confront their fate, Salem has a dark and terrible surprise for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a tough chapter to nail because of what it contains, and there were times when neither me or my lovely partner @comicfangirlperson were able to keep writing. I am massively grateful for her help in editing and proof-reading this particular chapter and for giving the characters the right levels of nuance and emotional resonance. This has certainly been a long time coming, at 7,800 words long, and I hope you are just as swept up in it as we have been while writing it out. :)

A scream of terror ripped itself from Emerald’s throat. She could do _nothing_ but watch helplessly from where she stood, holding the child still and keeping her sickle blades to his throat. One of them clattered to the ground as her muscles became as limp as jelly upon seeing the only person she had ever loved crumble lifelessly to the ground. As she lowered the other one from his neck, Oscar’s eyes shot wide open.

“ _CINDER-!”_ she tried shouting, but the boy jammed an elbow into her stomach now that he was freed, followed by a reverse-headbutt, cutting her off completely. 

Oscar scrambled to jump off the platform before she could try and retaliate, even though something told him that wouldn’t really be a problem when it came to her. The fall from the platform was rough and tactless but he wasn’t hurt, or at least not badly. As soon as he hit the ground, Nora was there, rushing forward as quickly as she could, and gathered him into a solid, comforting hug.

“Oscar,” she whispered over and over again into his ear, just holding him close and relishing the fact he was safe once again.

He buried his face into the crook of her neck and just stayed there, breathing heavily and collecting himself, and smiling softly at the welcome sound of Nora’s voice. He looked up at where Jaune and Ruby stood, tears streaming down their faces as a revenge they’d sought out for so long had finally been achieved. Ruby pulled herself away and looked at Jaune with a tearful look of gratitude, and the two shared a solemn, quiet embrace. The entire hall had gone dark, the pyre had died, and only a handful of torches illuminating the chamber remained. But then, a light began to take shape on the spot where Cinder had fallen. A rush of hot, golden light surged up from Cinder’s mangled, bloody corpse. 

Something started to happen. 

The light flowed slowly at first like a downhill stream, only going _upwards._ Long, slender black tendrils emerged from the light, and rapidly reached upwards, trying to encircle around the light, all quickly wriggling and writhing like octopus arms, and there were harsh, shrill shrieking sounds, reminiscent of Cinder’s own voice, emanating from that horrific mass of dark energy. The light and dark energies struggled against each other for a few moments before finally the black tendrils dissipated like smoke in the wind. The purer magic, glowing orange as it pulsated with vitality, was freed. It was… majestic, almost, until it started shooting it’s way towards Oscar and Nora.

“Nora!” he shouted in panic, and pushed her down and out of the way of the path of light. She yelped in surprise, but at the last possible moment the energy took a sharp turn _upwards._ It traveled up the side of the platform and straight towards Emerald. 

Her eyes went wide with panic as she watched the strange force, and then realized all too late exactly what was happening. The light enveloped itself around her body, she screamed in agony and refusal as she tried to keep it away but there was nothing that could be done as her aura absorbed the power of the Fall Maiden. 

“ _NO!”_ Emerald yelled out, pained and confused, “PLEASE, _NO!_ ” 

The power of the Fall Maiden rapidly surged through Emerald, volatile and incandescent and circled around her as it was fully bound to her body. Her eyes overflowed with magic in the form of flames the colour of her aura. She levitated upwards as swirls of fire, wind and ice circled around her accompanied by a cacophonous thunder-like sound, and all she could do was scream helplessly, as her transformation as the unwilling Fall Maiden was complete.

As she floated uncontrollably above the heroes, barely able to control her pained convulses as she tried to adapt to the Maiden powers, her grief transformed into unadulterated rage and hatred as her red eyes flared with magic as she saw them. Her enemies, the ones who took Cinder’s life. Screaming shrilly through her tears and ragged breaths, she reared her hand back and tried to shoot fire from her hands but the results were pure chaos. The flames emerged as strong as Cinder’s at first before dying down, then flaring up again, then down. Instead of hitting their marks, the flames licked the walls and swirled and dissipated. Emerald flailed and seethed in panic as she tried to control both the power and her own emotions, in so doing she was overextending herself.

Team RRAYNBOW scattered to find cover, and several trained their ranged weapons onto the new Fall Maiden. Penny jumped into the air, swerved around along the chamber walls, deflecting and dodging the rampant, frenzied blasts of elemental magic and grabbed Emerald from behind. As her opponent struggled in her grasp, Penny’s laser eyes heated up. Emerald screamed as the lasers burned into her back with searing, surgical precision and efficiency until her aura crumbled. But the magic still burned inside her and this new reserve of power kept these new abilities going.

“Surrender,” ordered Penny, holding Emerald in a vice grip, forcing the struggling Maiden down.

At first, Emerald kept pushing back against Penny and attempted to summon the will and resolve to channel the Maiden powers. Finally, she stopped struggling, went still for a moment, and collapsed in loud sobbing in the Winter Maiden’s arms. That vengeful fire that drove her assault had at last fizzled out. 

Penny could remember every incident from her time at Beacon in photographic detail. She knew from Atlas intelligence that this was the co-conspirator who framed and tricked a beloved champion into using her semblance to dismember her, and the sudden overwhelming onslaught of fear and pain racing through her circuits as every part of her shut down. She understood what a loss this was for all her friends. In her struggle against Emerald, she had expected to find an unrepentant cohort and apprentice to Cinder. What she found instead was a frightened, confused and emotionally fragile young woman who found herself on the wrong side. As they descended, Penny’s stern countenance softened ever so slightly as her restraining grip remained strong.

When they touched on the ground, Emerald slumped to her knees. She looked up at the Huntsmen and Huntresses surrounding her, their expressions were conflicted. Stone rigid and unforgiving, yet... not filled with malice, or the fury they had displayed in battle against Cinder. Her own face, stained with tears and contorted with exhaustion, went through a dozen emotions at once as she faced the ones she saw as her persecutors.

“Now you listen to me,” said Jaune harshly as he crouched down in front of her and gripped her by the shoulders, “Whatever you think of us, that _monster_ Ruby just put down _deserved_ every bit of pain she got for all the lives she snuffed out and ruined. She… she _murdered_ Pyrrha and there’s not enough _agony_ in this world that could’ve _made up for that_ - _-_ ”

“Jaune, that’s enough,” cautioned Ren, glaring a warning at his teammate, “She wouldn’t want this.”

Emerald quivered and looked away fearfully, unable to look Jaune in the eye with his mounting fury boiling to the surface. Jaune froze as he realized that his anger had come over him and made him lose sight of things _again_. And he knew full well that Ren was correct.

Oscar flinched at the knight’s furious outburst from where he stood pressed up against Nora’s side. He remembered how much Jaune’s rage could boil into violence. Memories of that anger being full force in Argus came surging to the surface, and for the first time he felt pity for the defeated Emerald. Worry for Jaune pushed to the front of his mind, and the fear that the knight’s desire for revenge would consume everything in its path became prominent.

“As soon- As soon as... I get control of these powers, I’ll kill you all myself!” vowed Emerald, out of breath from what was likely a mix of the new powers and her defeat. She glared daggers at all of them, the tears running down her face a testament to how overwhelmed she was.

“We have seven Hunters, a wizard, _and_ the Winter Maiden. Not the best odds,” remarked Nora, shaking her head.

“It’s over, Emerald,” said Yang in a low angry voice barely above a growl.

Emerald flinched as though she had been burned, “But these powers… Cinder _chose_ me! Sh-she loved me, she… she just had to!”

“Didn’t look like it to me,” observed Blake as she shook her head.

“ _What would you know?!_ ” screeched Emerald, furiously struggling against Penny’s grip.

“This is a fight you cannot win, Miss Sustrai,” said Penny severely, “Why do you insist on it?”

“I have to win! For Cinder! She _wanted_ me to inherit her powers, and now… now _I’ll kill you all! I will! For Cinder- F-For Cinder-! I must avenge her_!” she broke off into sobs, head hanging low as they wracked her body. 

“Cinder had always used you, Emerald,” said Ruby flatly, all emotion suppressed as she tried to keep a reasoned tone as she walked closer, “She poisoned your mind to obtain what she wanted and made you an accomplice to murder and terrorism. She never saved you. She brought you almost as low as her. Up until the very end, do you really think she cared for you in any way? Right now you are looking at the only Huntress in Remnant who might show you some compassion, maybe even a chance of redemption.”

“You... want to help me?” asked Emerald, barely moving her head to look up at Ruby, the tears in her eyes glinting back as something deeper and darker began to come into focus. Her lip curled in suspicion bordering on disgust, and it made some the heroes wonder if they should even try at this point.

“Yes,” said Ruby, a hint earnestness in her voice despite her serious expression, “But we need your help too, to destroy Salem. Together.”

“ _Then you’re out of your mind!_ ” Emerald screamed in Ruby’s face, pushing back against Penny, her flared temper and sudden burst of strength surprising the Winter Maiden.

Blasting fire and ice all around her, shoving and yelling as she went, and sprinting across the chamber, up the stairs and out the door. Emerald was gone before anyone had a chance to react.

Team RRAYNBOW stood in shocked silence for a while, followed by a strong sense of relief coming over the team. By now, they had come a lot further than any of them had dared to hope.

“She’s…” Weiss started slowly, stunned and confused by what just happened.

“A lost cause,” Yang supplied with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah… that,” concluded Blake, ears flattened remorsefully.

“We did what we could,” began Ruby quietly placing herself among her team, her sisters, with a grateful smile starting to bloom, “But I couldn’t have gotten this far, or even be alive, without any of you.”

In a quick motion, Team RWBY pulled together into a tight group hug, muffled sobs of relief shared between them. Penny walked up to them, tapped Weiss on the shoulder and looked to them hopefully. She yelped in surprise as she was pulled in with the rest of RWBY and made light sobbing noises along with them.

Nearby, Jaune was staring in cold silence at Cinder’s corpse again. He jumped a little as a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him away. He was pulled into a tight and loving group hug by Nora, Ren and Oscar.

“I still can’t believe it,” he whispered, barely able to avert his eyes from what remained of his fallen enemy, “I carried my hatred for Cinder for _so long_ and now… there she is, a lifeless husk. I hate to admit it, but I’ve imagined this playing out in my head way, _way_ too many times.”

“Now you can finally get the closure you need. You were incredibly brave when you faced her, Jaune,” said Oscar, eyes closed as he held onto his teammates.

“Please stop looking at _that thing_ , Jaune,” said Nora tearfully, grabbing Jaune’s cheeks with both hands, “You did it! You kicked that bitch’s ugly butt, our Fearless Leader helped to win the day!”

“Did I, though?” he asked softly, tiredly. He seemed distant, the way he seemed so unfocused on everything around him, and yet so in the moment at the same time. It’d been a hard day, no doubt of that, but this was still very out of character for him.

“You did all that you could, Jaune. When we had fallen and were close to death, you were there to do your best, to be your best. Just like always,” assured Ren.

“Yeah...” breathed Jaune, his eyes widened as he stared outwards, “Really close...”

He glanced back to the deceased False Maiden, this time with a rush of fear and understanding of just how powerful she was right up until the very end. It took all of them just to wear her down before Ruby could deliver the killing strike, and the very best of his old team at Beacon stood truly no chance at all against her alone. He looked towards his teammates and offered a weak smile to each of them, and looked on as Team RWBY and Penny reaffirmed their love.

“I’m _so_ sorry, Ruby, I should have watched out for you better,” said Yang, holding back the urge to cry as she cradled her sister’s head in her arms.

“We _all_ missed you so much,” murmured Weiss as she buried herself among her family.

“We should have been on Cinder’s trail from the moment we lost you,” said Blake quietly, the first to break away from the hug, “All this could have been avoided.”

“It’s okay… There’s nothing to forgive, Blake,” reassured Ruby, rubbing away the tears and taking Blake’s hands in her own, “I knew you would all come for me.”

“What matters is that we’re all here together,” declared Penny with a sad smile.

“Except, we’re not all here together.”

Everyone turned towards a stoic and rigid Jaune, who looked like he was trying to force down a look of betrayal and anger; his teammates stared at him with worry.

“As long as _she_ is no longer with us, we will _never_ be complete.”

Penny looked down, shame and regret seeping into every inch of her gentle countenance. Everyone else stared at Jaune. Weiss and Yang rushed over to Penny’s side to comfort her and glared towards him in silent admonishment. Ruby who had gone from exhausted to hopeful in the company of her team was the most astonished of the group. Then her lips went thin and she narrowed her eyes, slowly advancing away from her team towards the still and unwavering Jaune. She stopped and looked him straight in the eye for what felt like several minutes.

“Let’s just go,” she said at last in a low voice.

Ruby was the first up the stairs leading out of the chamber, gathering speed to get out of that ghastly place before it could leave a more lasting impression. The rest of the combined team was quick to follow suit, with Oscar coming last and glancing back over their battlefield, contemplating how difficult the next altercation would be. If Cinder was all but invincible, then to try and bring about the final end for Salem was to knock at death’s door.

~*~

Team RRAYNBOW and Penny emerged from the passageway, relieved to see something other than the hellish red and black iron and glass of the chamber. The sickening blood red sky glowered through the tall glass windows on every side. Quickly transforming into a cloud of rose petals, Ruby managed to get a good view of the surrounding wilderness. It immediately struck her as strange how there was not a single Grimm in sight. Not even a Nevermore circling from outside. Furthermore, she realized just how high up they were, they couldn’t exactly leap to their freedom. Ruby jumped down and looked about, quietly scouting the corridors ahead of them to find they were still clear of enemies. She returned and faced the group.

“So, what do you think of all this?” asked Yang tersely.

“I honestly have no idea where we’re supposed to go,” confessed Ruby, she began to shiver as she recalled the events of those terrible weeks as a prisoner, “I-I was taken into Cinder’s dungeon immediately, and then they _blindfolded_ me so I couldn’t find my way out if I managed to escape. And, sometimes, Salem… she tried to make me give up, she talked about- about our _mom_ , and… and how she died.”

She broke down into sobs again, and Yang rushed over and hugged her tightly. Weiss, Blake and Penny looked to each other forlornly and huddled closer, allowing the sisters space to decompress. Team JNOR looked on from a distance, sharing looks of worry.

“Penny, when you arrived did you detect any sign of Salem? Anything at all?” asked Blake.

“I’m afraid not,” said Penny, shaking her head, “My descent and penetration of the castle happened so fast I failed to account for Salem’s possible location.”

“What I don’t understand is why she doesn’t just overwhelm us,” observed Blake nervously.

“I think she wants us to run her maze and either catch us off guard with the Grimm, or there’s some other trap lying in wait that she wants us to find,” pointed out Weiss.

“If Salem wants us to come to her… Then we _will_ ,” said Ruby with cold resolve.

The rest of her team along with JNOR solemnly nodded among themselves.

They travelled in silence through the corridors of Evernight Castle. To avoid getting lost, and taking advice from Blake, Ruby notched the walls and corners with Crescent Rose so they knew which corridors and stairways to take. However, without any real direction or sense of where they needed to go, it was tempting to let their guard down and forget that time was running out. They might not have seen or heard any Grimm at this stage, but they _knew_ that they were out there and growing in number. The strange lack of urgency started to grow within some of them, as though wandering this labyrinth of corridors would be preferable than confronting the very reason for them being here.

“Jaune, can I talk with you for a moment?” asked Oscar, breaking the silence and aware of the fact that his voice echoed through the corridors and toward the rest of his team.

“Sure, what is it?” Jaune replied, still seeming as rough and distant as he did before.

“Did you… want to finish off Cinder yourself?”

He went quiet, his expression as cold and angry as stone. Oscar almost didn’t expect an answer now, but Jaune exhaled deeply and slowly and the young wizard knew that he’d get his reply after all.

“In all honesty? Yeah, I wanted to kill her myself. I... wasn’t fast enough. _Again._ But Ruby was, so she did it. I did what I could, saying what I said to her… It should’ve been enough. It should’ve been at least _satisfying._ And yet…”  
  
  


“It was still not enough,” Oscar murmured, finishing Jaune’s sentence for him.

Jaune simply nodded, not even looking back at Oscar, and pressed on.

“Your battle with Cinder is finally over now, Jaune. Pyrrha would be proud of you,” said Oscar gently.

The knight went rigid. He froze in his tracks. His gaze was stuck on some distant wall ahead of them, his lip lifted in a sneer. 

“You didn’t _know_ Pyrrha, Oscar. So don’t even try it,” Jaune looked down at Oscar without ever moving his head from where it was stuck facing straight forward, “Any memories you inherited from Ozpin _don’t_ count.”

“ _Jaune?_ ” Ren whispered in horror from behind them.

Nora gasped and her hands flew up to cover her mouth, “ _What?”_

Ruby glanced back toward Jaune and his team, they had been lagging behind for a while now but she knew that fatigue was not slowing them down. She gestured to the others to stop and walked towards Jaune.

“I’m sorry,” Oscar apologized, taking a step back and away from his partner. He stared down at the ground, looking conflicted and sad, “I was just-”

“No, you’re just moralizing and spouting empty words of comfort, just like _Ozpin_!”

Nora took a step forward, looking tired and sad. Oscar took a step backwards, arms up in a placating motion, looking as if he’d been burned. Jaune stared at the two of them, the anger in him only rising, but he wasn’t quite sure who he was angry with anymore. Oscar? Ozpin? Cinder? Ruby? He was just… so confused with his own feelings now, and that _look_ on Nora’s face wasn’t doing much to help. 

“You don’t mean that,” Nora said harshly, voice low and demanding. But Jaune… He didn’t know anymore. He just didn’t know. 

“Maybe I do,” he muttered softly, his eyes stuck gazing into hers. 

From the pale glistening in her eyes alone, Jaune understood that his sudden outburst was a terrible shock to her, and likely everyone else was too.

“Jaune,” Ruby frowned, worry for her friends causing her to stand as tall and strong as possible, trying to remind them that the job wasn’t over quite yet from just her body language, “I wouldn’t have been able to kill Cinder without you, without _any_ of you. You know that. But don’t _even think_ for a moment that I’m gonna let you put your anger and grief front and center in all of this. _Or_ let you turn on your own teammates like that. We all miss her. We all wanted better for her. But we don’t have time for this, not right now, not when the _entire world_ is depending on us. If you don’t let this anger go, then you’re just letting Cinder win.”

Jaune didn’t flinch. Didn’t move a bit. Not even his hard set poker face changed. 

“This is a dangerous precedent, Jaune,” warned Ren, coming closer to his knight, but not quite close enough to be in danger if things went really sideways, “I’ve been in that same state of mind before. That overwhelming rage has festered since Beacon, and now it has nowhere to go, so it’s strangling your grief until your memory of Pyrrha becomes a poison in your veins. If… if you let it continue, one day you may catch yourself wishing she had never existed so that you may be spared the pain.”

Jaune’s expression softened, he looked down and sighed as tears started to form. His whole body quivered as he looked between Ruby and his team mates. He closed his eyes and tensed up, looking away from all of them.

“I still hate her, Ruby,” he confessed in a broken voice, “Even after you put a hole through her body, I still want to strangle her with my bare hands and watch the light slowly die from her eyes. I still want to watch as she pays for what she did to us through sheer agony.. I… I know that that’s wrong. I know that that’s awful. I know that I shouldn’t think like that but-”

They stared at him with open mouths. This wasn’t the same man they had known all this time… Was it? The same man who had comforted through nightmares? The same man who had nearly sacrificed himself a hundred times over for each one of them? The same man who had led them to this place so they could save the whole damn world? 

The shock between them all was like a still pond in the forest. Rippleless and suffocating. Poisonous and deceitful.

He let out a choked sob and brought one hand to his forehead as he continued to spiral, “I know that you all think that now Cinder is- is _dead_ this would make me feel better. Somehow… somehow, though, it just _doesn’t_. I’m still pissed at Salem for finding Cinder... And at the Brother Gods for setting up this feud in the first place, and at Ozpin for duping Pyrrha into this whole _mess-_!”

“All of that is out of our hands, always has been,” said Nora sternly, standing right in front of him, placing both her hands on each of his shoulders, “You can’t keep living like this, Jaune. It will destroy you. It’ll make you no better than Salem’s followers. Is that really what _you_ want?”

“I just want _her_ back...”

Silence lingered between them for a while. 

Nora stared and stepped back, and Ren closed his eyes and sighed. 

“I know,” Nora whispered. 

Ruby breathed deeply and evenly, and hoped to any merciful higher power watching them that she could still use her silver eyes against Salem after all this.

“We still have a job to do, are you coming or not?”

Jaune stoically nodded and followed immediately behind Ruby as she went ahead.

Oscar sighed and rubbed his arm regretfully and slowed his pace until he was at the back of the group, away from Jaune. He knew full well that Jaune was hurting and where this all had come from, but still he felt very betrayed at becoming the focus of his partner’s anger. No amount of justice or vengeance could ever bring Pyrrha Nikos back. And after months of failing to live up to her paragon status and legacy, and trying his best in his own way and still coming up short, Ozpin’s misdeeds inevitably came into focus again. 

Oscar started to resent even thinking of Jaune as his partner, his friend, in the first place. 

With all the negative thoughts boiling up inside each of the team, he thought it was strange that there were _still_ no Grimm to attack them.

~*~

After what felt like hours, and with overwhelming reluctance, Team RRAYNBOW and Penny found a staircase leading upwards. They came into a vast hall with an arching roof with high, ornately carved crystalline walls and narrow windows to match them, their iridescent violet glow gleamed stronger than before. The floor was reflective and smooth as alabaster, matching the hues of the walls. Steel swords and spears lined the walls in decorative fashion, they looked to be quite old, possible relics and trophies of past wars, but still retained their sharpness. 

The whole place looked like some nightmarish cathedral, dwarfing them so completely it seemed to swallow them up. They pressed slowly forward, weapons drawn.

“This looks like some kind of throne room,” Jaune observed quietly, staring up to take in the vast, haunting architecture, “It could be the very center of the castle.”

“Salem must be near,” Ruby whispered, darkly.

“My sensors are detecting an increasing number of Grimm around us, Ruby,” warned Penny quietly, staring out with bright penetrating green eyes.

At the edges of the hall flowed a dark mist that thickened further ahead, and the ominous iridescent glow pointed them towards a darkened part of the hall dead ahead of them. From the low, but alarmingly close growls and evil yellow eyes in the shadows, they knew they were being watched.

“Then we’ll fight them, too,” said Yang, holding up Ember Cecilia to be primed.

But Penny suddenly seemed far more nervous than she had been before, she stared towards the front of the hall, her optic sensors expanding and contracting, suddenly she stopped and began to shiver and pant loudly in an attempt to calm herself.

“Ummm, Penny?” Ruby turned around and looked worryingly at the Winter Maiden.

“I should inform you that I am detecting three more life forms with aura ahead of us,” said Penny quickly, her eyes wide and her voice thick with fear, “I’ve identified one of them as Emerald Sustrai.”

“Figures,” commented Yang, twisting her mouth in frustration.

“The readings on one of them are especially powerful, far greater than Cinder Fall. Almost limitless,” Penny added quickly.

“And that would be Salem,” said Weiss.

“However, there is something very strange with the third aura,” murmured Penny, now taking measured steps backwards, “The readings are very erratic, indicating that it’s both highly strained and fragile, barely registering on my scanners, yet also frantic and surging with the same energy as Salem’s aura. It’s as though there are _two_ auras at war in the same host body.”

The whole team glanced among each other, now much more fearful for whatever it was that lay ahead of them. Weiss recoiled towards an equally unnerved Blake and Yang, while Nora and Ren held each other’s hands and huddled closely. Jaune gulped loudly as he went pale, digesting Penny’s words as best he could. Something about this was alarmingly familiar. How could it be both strange and familiar at the same time? 

He searched his innermost memories, from the first day at Beacon to the last night in Evernight’s shadow, the mere notion of two auras jammed in one body made him feel more disturbed than almost anything he had seen so far. It reminded him of _something_...

“Guys? Maybe I’ve gone crazy, but something feels _so wrong_ about all this,” he finally said, “I mean, but what if there’s something we just never considered before?”

After having been silent and distant from the group for a while now, Oscar placed his fingers to his temple in concentration in an attempt to reach Ozpin’s memories. Despite his frustrations towards Jaune, he could not help but feel that he was right. Then, the rush of emotions hit him. Guilt, fear, frantic anger, and dread at the oncoming False Maiden claiming the life of the true bearer of the Fall Maiden powers. This technology was very much real, courtesy of the Atlesian science division. What need would Salem have for it?

Ruby Rose stood apart from the rest, closer to the blackness. She couldn’t deny the fear she felt, both from Salem’s game of cat and mouse and from Penny’s warnings of just who, or what, was in the throne room with them. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her arms clutching her chest. With a quick turn, she strode further up the hall. Her teammates had broken down into worried murmurs among themselves and went silent as they noticed their leader, their best chance at destroying Salem, walking ahead without them.

“Salem. We know you’re here. Come out and face us,” challenged Ruby.

At first, only stillness and silence was her answer.

_“Brave words, Ruby Rose. I’ve heard them before, from hundreds of souls across thousands of years, long before you and your mother were born.”_

A sibilant and darkly maternal voice echoed from the far corners of the throne room. The team looked about and immediately bunched together, fear coursing through them like icy water. The darkness closed in around them, and with it the surrounding snarls of aggression from the Grimm. The black mist began to flow and recede around them.

Then, they saw her.

There Salem stood above them, clad in a tight-fitting black combat dress with red eye and vein patterns and motifs, and sporting black glass bracers and an oily black circlet about her elaborate headdress. As she moved forward, they realized she was not standing at all, but in fact hovering over them as Cinder had been, engulfed within the same black nebulous substance that surrounded the heroes. Staring down with obsidian black eyes, she smirked maliciously at the heroes as the weight of their situation washed over them.

“I have been watching your rescuers since they first set foot in my realm,” purred Salem with all the ease of an indolent predator, “My creatures bring me visions of what they see. I am not just the creator and master of the Grimm. I _am_ the Grimm.”

“You’re a dead end, Salem,” Ruby shot back, “A creature of infinite life and infinite lust for destruction makes you one big contradiction!”

“You think in such childish terms, Ruby Rose. If the Brother Gods believed that I was such a mistake, they would have wiped me out and not wasted another thought on me. Yet here I am, the legacy of their pettiness and spite, the most powerful being on this planet. A goddess, for all intents and purposes.” 

“You were _never_ a goddess, Salem,” seethed Oscar, striding past his companions and glaring at Salem with a newfound rage built over centuries-long memories of resentment.

“And who are you to defy me, little one? You’re not even a shadow of Ozpin, nevermind _Ozma._ What do you truly know of divine power? Or eternal life? Once, he and I had our quest to unite humanity under our rule, and improve upon it by replacing it with its rightful higher forms. Until _he_ betrayed me,” Salem hissed, all pretense of ease evaporated, her glare deepening.

“Well, _sorry_ for such a messy divorce,” taunted Jaune, stepping forward, “But we’re through paying for your mistakes. We made it this far together, past your Grimm, past Cinder Fall, and we _will_ destroy you! Why don’t you come down and _face_ us, you _coward!_ ”

Salem scowled at their display of defiance and courage, and then closed her eyes and sighed. She looked to her left.

“Emerald, dear? Could you come here please?” said Salem, extending her left arm towards the dark vapours and gesturing ‘come here’ as Emerald stiffly walked out of the shadows towards Salem. The new Fall Maiden was just as wracked with fear as she was in Cinder’s presence, shaking from head to toe. This time, it was not from the odds that ultimately overwhelmed her late master, but the mere presence of Salem, the real master of both of them.

“Really? That’s the ace up your sleeve?” remarked Yang, her arms folded in a blasé manner.

“We already know what she can do,” added Weiss, shaking her head, “And she made a poor show of it by running away.”

“I think you will find her resolve weak and brittle, Salem, unlike ours,” said Penny, how starting to hover upwards and unsheathing her swords and icy winds forming around her.

“I see… Emerald, if you will?” said Salem, sounding bored by her own request.

Emerald closed her eyes and stretched her arms out, the act of concentration was even more exhausting for her now that she was truly alone, without the one who made her believe she was stronger when she was around. At first, Team RRAYNBOW could not see anything different.

“We beat her illusions last time, we won’t fall for your tricks again,” said Ruby.

Salem’s low, cruel chuckles echoed through the throne room, and the shared defiance between the band of companions was slowly dissolved. 

“Did I say her semblance was meant for you?”

She stretched out her right arm towards them, her fingers making arches in the shape of claws, and with a downward flick of her wrist there was a distinct and horrible _click_ sound. Emerald flinched and stepped closer to Salem in a vain attempt to seek comfort, but the immortal witch paid her no heed. The young heroes looked among one another, was it some sort of spell?

The silence was broken once again by the sound of heavy footfalls upon the crystal floor, moving slowly from Salem’s right to directly ahead of them. Ruby peered through the shadowy mist but could not make anything out.

“Human minds are such fragile things,” said Salem at last, looking down beneath her, “But she managed to resist for quite some time. I can still hear her shouts of defiance turn into wails of anguish. But she understands me now, don’t you, _Aporia_?”

The heavy footfalls sounded again coming straight towards them, and out of the shadows. It was a warrior clad in a rusted and scratched bronze cuirass augmented with gleaming black leather, a tattered and sullied red sash around the waist, with bronze leg greaves, and her head capped with a black steel circlet. The warrior had long red hair, darkened and frayed by the profane influences within, upon ghostly pale skin seemingly drained of all vitality. Her eyes were two deep, swirling dark pits, with red irises just like Salem’s, staring intensely outwards, and a jawline thinned and contorted by malnutrition and venomous rage. And then, right where Ruby remembered the flash of emotions and loss of control, was a scar, right in the center of her chest.

_“Oh no,”_ uttered Ozpin from within Oscar’s subconscious.

Gasps of terror filled the throne room. Ruby clasped her mouth, went stock still and shook her head repeatedly, and Weiss lowered Myrtenaster and stared in denial and disbelief. Yang stared and lowered Ember Cecilia while Blake began to quaver where she stood. Penny’s steady levitation faltered and she quickly descended, hands covering her mouth as memories of her final moments of consciousness at Amity Arena came rushing forward.

“No… no, no, no,” sobbed Nora, as Magnhild dropped to the ground in a loud clang and covered her mouth to stop her crying getting louder.

“This...this cannot be,” whispered Ren, holding both hands to his head, “She… she’s dead! She’s _gone!_ ”

“And she _would have_ fought to the death. Cinder almost overstepped her orders, but I needed Miss Nikos. With Cinder dead, Aporia will be a greater warrior, assassin, and leader of my armies than _she_ ever was.”

“P-Pyrrha?” murmured Jaune as his legs gave out from under him, tears blinded him and sobs choked from his throat, his breathing became ragged and shallow and he rapidly rose to his feet, “ _What have you done to her?!_ ” 

“I’ve made her into the ultimate warrior, Jaune Arc,” answered Salem calmly, resonating above Jaune’s heightened pitch and volume, “Aporia is _no longer_ Pyrrha Nikos. The same body and soul, yes, but... _altered_ for my own desire. This isn’t _simple_ mind control. She offered herself to me after much _persuasion_.” 

“By torture?” Oscar whispered brokenly, unable to take her eyes away from what used to be the shining beacon of Team JNPR.

“In a manner of speaking,” she glanced over to Oscar and smirked, “Why ruin and waste a champion’s body? As she stayed with me, I taught her the futility of _your_ mission, and the false hope _you_ instilled in her. I showed her how utterly overrun the world is, every moment of pain, suffering and despair from all those she failed to protect. The more she resisted and hardened her resolve to return to the world, the more she cracked. In the end, she gave herself to me, and accepted her new name and destiny. She’s no longer a mere pawn as you treated her, Ozpin, now she is my general, my emissary and my iron will. You created the Huntsmen to fight my Grimm, and I made Aporia to destroy your child warriors.”

A deep sadness welled up inside Oscar that was not his own. He knew then that Ozpin was wounded by Salem’s words, and it made him feel hollow and disorientated. He looked to his team and reached out to Jaune, on his knees and broken once again.

“J-Jaune?” stammered Oscar, before he could rest his hand on his shoulder, Jaune’s arm swung around hard and trashed his hand away.

“His fault… his fault… _this is all his fault!!!_ ” he cried harshly pointing towards Oscar, sobs ranging from furious to heartbroken flooded through him. Oscar gasped and backed away quickly, tears threatening to blur his own vision from the shared guilt from Ozpin and sheer anguish and harshness of Jaune’s words.

“Shall I have Aporia kill him for you, boy?” cooed Salem, tilting her head patronizingly, “Perhaps you would like to _join_ her?”

Jaune stared at Aporia, her expression remained as brutal and cold as it was upon her emergence. He looked back to Nora and Ren, both wracked with grief and trying to stifle their crying, and looked at him with disbelief that he would even _listen_ to what Salem had to offer. Oscar stood alone and cast his eyes down.

“Stop calling her that,” seethed Jaune at last, hoisting up onto his feet, still hoarse from his earlier scream and tears streaking down his face, “Her name is _Pyrrha._ ”

“If it gives you comfort in your final hours, then call her what you will,” frowned Salem, “After tonight, it won’t matter. She will be at the forefront of every battle, every siege, every victory until she is stopped. It’s time someone asked you all, how far will _you_ go to save the world?”

Team RRAYNBOW and Penny stood frozen, and completely demoralized. Ruby looked from her team to Jaune’s and there was not a single look of resolve or resistance among them. Penny’s words of warning had come true in a horrifying way then and there. 

“No? Then I’ll make it simple. Now, she can see you.”

Emerald lowered her arms. The illusion was gone, and it was not meant for Team RRAYNBOW. 

Baring uncannily white teeth for such a being of Salem’s design, Aporia brandished her black steel spear and tore through the air with alarming velocity and let out an inhuman, harsh battle yell. This was followed by the cacophonous cries of the Grimm, roaring Ursas, howling Beowolves, grunting Boarbatusks, chittering Sentinels and Death Stalkers all rushed from every side from the dark vapors. 

Team RWBY and Penny leaped into the fray, eager to finally be fighting something other than twisted mind games. Ruby scythed and fired with Crescent Rose, Weiss soared upon her glyphs, Blake jumped and spun with her katana bared, and Yang roared with fiery golden hair and smashed every Grimm in her path. It was almost effortless for them.

And that was what Salem wanted.

Before Ruby could select a new target, the spectral warrior charged through her and knocked her clean off her feet like a bronze cannon ball. Slashing in wide arcs and thrusting with the same precision and tenacity as the Invincible Girl, Ruby yelped and jumped back, increasingly taken aback by this creature’s uncanny ferocity.

Raising her spear high, Aporia readied to throw it, only to be intercepted by Yang, bearing all her strength down on her, yelling with each strike, this was joined by rounds from Gambol Shroud and a cloud of ice dust from Weiss. But still, Aporia parried and thrusted in retaliation, projecting her black and red aura outward, deflecting ammo and dust alike, and sending shockwaves through the ground. 

Momentarily satisfied, she turned to see that Team JNOR were pinned down by the Grimm horde and backed into a corner. Bounding high into the air and down again, Aporia collided straight into Jaune, knocking him back several dozens of feet. 

She looked on either side, to Nora and Ren, and swiped and lunged in their direction. Ren was quick enough to evade the spear tip, holding down his emotions, swerving and leaping backward. Nora parried every attack, teeth gritted and channelling her grief into her hands to keep Magnhild in her grip, holding her ground for almost a minute while Ren rushed forward and raised StormFlower to strike, but Aporia raised her carved obsidian shield and shoved him back. 

Unlike Cinder who took maniacal, sadistic glee in her fighting, there was nothing of Aporia that betrayed any emotion other than barely suppressed rage.

Jaune leaped into Aporia’s side, knocking her momentarily off balance and grabbing both her arms, holding the spear and shield out of reach, and he was joined with Nora restraining Aporia from the waist down and Ren assisting to hold her spear-arm out of reach.

  
“Pyrrha, you have to stop! Please, this isn’t you!” pleaded Jaune, trying to look the struggling Aporia in the eye, begging for any kind of recognizable humanity in those corrupted eyes. But as Salem’s herald stared him in the face, he could see there was nothing of them that reminded him of his long lost love.

As they struggled Aporia closed her eyes, at first it looked as though she would repel Jaune, Nora and Ren through sheer strength. But still she held her position. All along the throne hall, swords, axes and spears hovered in the air with a black aura around them and began to move.

“Polarity,” Jaune breathed as he realized what was happening.

The bladed weapons flew through the air at high speed into both teams, causing many to cry out in surprise and pain. As RWBY and JNR broke formation to preserve their now battered auras, Aporia stood free. She raised more weapons from their stands and sent them flying across the throne hall, and kept going until a black storm of metal swirled around her. 

She turned to face Penny. The Winter Maiden had become separated while fending off a horde of Beowolves, but she knew that this semblance was one that her Maiden powers could not protect her from. Aporia raised her arms, still levitating the weapons around her, and concentrated on the android girl. A low whimper of fear building up in the back of her throat, Penny stood her ground as she prepared to face the final end.

“ _Penny! RUN!!!_ ” cried Ruby, transforming into a cloud of rose petals and spinning straight towards Aporia, Crescent Rose raised to strike.

Foregoing her semblance for a moment, Aporia turned and parried Ruby’s scythe with her spear and renewed her attack.

Ruby glanced behind her foe and saw that Penny had heeded her plea and was fleeing down an unknown corridor away from the great hall, followed by curious Grimm. A small seed of relief took root, before having to bury it as panic swept through her again.

The Grimm kept coming and coming, and she glanced either side as her teammates were pushed further back, and JNR retreated from a pack of Death Stalkers. They could not continue the fight here.

Transforming once again, Ruby sidestepped Aporia and reunited with her team, pointing towards one of the off-shooting corridors, the two teams regrouped and bolted as fast as they could. But still, Aporia was relentless and charged after them. Stopping and turning about, Nora roared and plunged Magnhild into the walls of the corridor, bringing the crystals down in sharp, broken rubble behind them, creating a significant obstacle for Aporia and the Grimm.

They ran together for a few minutes until they were sure to have gotten some distance. Ruby did a head count. At the same time, Jaune realized and broke into frenzied yelling.

“Oh gods, no! Not now! Not like this!”

“Jaune… where’s Oscar?!” cried Ruby.

~*~

“We have so much catching up to do, my dear Ozma,” greeted Salem gently as she descended to the floor and stroked her hand across Oscar’s face.

Panic swept through Oscar as he struggled to escape the rough paws of the Grimm, until he felt the familiar rush of magic overtake him and he saw and felt no more. As Ozma stared into the eyes of the woman he once loved more than anything else in all of his years, he knew that it was over. It was all over. 


End file.
